Handy tool lets you find the best green space nearest to your home

22 September 2023 , 13:32

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Autumn is here and it means the perfect excuse to get out on some gorgeous walks (Image: Getty)

While summer 2023 may well be well and truly dead and buried now, there's plenty of reasons to put on your welly boots and coat to head into the great outdoors whether on a staycation or just for a day out. The leaves are falling into kickable drifts, conkers are ripe and puddles are there to be splashed in.

Luckily, Ordnance Survey has offered up some major inspiration as it's the UK's best city parks - and uncovered the nation's 100 biggest parks as part of its OS Open Greenspace Data. It's perfect timing too ahead of National #GetOutsideDay on Sunday 24 September when people are encouraged to pause their hectic lives, take a breath of fresh air and connect with nature.

Here are the Mirror, we've also created a handy tool you can use below to find the best parks near you. Simply enter your postcode, and you'll be able to find the biggest park from Ordnance Survey's 100 list that's closest to your home.

Nick Giles OBE, managing director for leisure at OS, said: "You don’t need to travel into the wild countryside or our beautiful national parks to experience the benefits of getting outside. Many of us can’t do that at the drop of a hat, but we can get out on our doorstep to our nearest park, common or green spaces and get just as much benefit. Why not take a bit of time out on Sunday, September 24 to do just that?

"There are thousands of precious urban green spaces dotted all over Britain worthy of spending time in to recharge and cleanse the body and soul given the incredible benefits of being in nature – which is what National #GetOutside Day is about.

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You can find the best parks near you using our handy tool (Getty Images)

"Scientific research has consistently shown that spending time in green spaces can reduce stress, boost mental clarity, and enhance overall physical health. Plus this gives us a great opportunity to connect with friends and families. The OS Maps App is a great introduction for this as it contains all the greenspace in our towns and cities and is packed full of easy-to-use walking routes to follow all over the country."

Rather than heading straight for a specific part, making your way to a green city may be a good way to breath the fresh air and enjoy being outside. Green space is defined as public parks or gardens, playing fields, play spaces, outdoor sports facilities bowling greens, cemeteries, golf courses, religious grounds, gardens allotments or community growing spaces, and tennis courts.

Check out Ordnance Survey's rankings of the best cities with green spaces below...

UK's best 50 cities for green spaces

1. St Albans
2. Wakefield
3. Bristol
4. Stoke-on-Trent
5. Peterborough
6. City of Westminster
7. Wrexham
8. Nottingham
9. Dundee
10. Milton Keynes
11. Manchester
12. Oxford
13. Edinburgh
14. Chelmsford
15. Newcastle upon Tyne
16. Lancaster
17. Glasgow
18. London
19. Winchester
20. Southampton
21. Leicester
22. Wells
23. Liverpool
24. Canterbury
25. Dunfermline
26. Sheffield
27. Preston
28. Swansea
29. Aberdeen
30. Salford
31. Leeds
32. Southend-on-Sea
33. Colchester
34. Birmingham
35. Durham
36. Ely
37. Bath
38. Derby
39. Gloucester
40. Stirling
41. Cardiff
42. Inverness
43. Hereford
44. Cambridge
45. Worcester
46. Portsmouth
47. Perth
48. Doncaster
49. Bradford
50. Bangor

Learn more about National #GetOutside Day by visiting getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk where you can share your own precious places outside on OS Maps App.

Milo Boyd