The English towns keeping the ‘90s outdoor childhood alive

Milton Keynes has been named the best place in England for children to enjoy an outdoor childhood, according to new research examining playground access, green space and road safety.

The study analysed official government datasets to identify the areas where children have the greatest opportunities to play outside safely, something many parents know has become increasingly difficult in modern life.

Researchers assessed local authorities using three key factors that influence outdoor play: the number of playgrounds and parks available per 10,000 children, how many households are within walking distance of green space, and road safety levels for child pedestrians. After combining the data into an overall Outdoor Childhood Score, Milton Keynes emerged as the top location in England for outdoor childhood opportunities.

Milton Keynes is widely known for its extensive parkland, with more than 5,000 acres of parks, lakes and green spaces across the town. Its famous network of ‘redways’, traffic-free walking and cycling paths stretching for over 200 miles, allows residents to travel across the city without using main roads, making it particularly safe for families and young cyclists.

Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford, who lives near Milton Keynes with his partner and children, has previously spoken about the importance of encouraging children to stay active outdoors. In interviews he has said he feels fortunate to live near fields and woodland where his family can spend time outside, and has described Milton Keynes as “a wonderful community and a wonderful environment”.

The findings suggest that access to safe green spaces and play areas continues to play a major role in shaping childhood experiences across England. Many Britons who are now parents remember growing up in the 70s, 80s and 90s when childhood meant spending hours outdoors with friends. But concerns about traffic, fewer nearby play areas and increased screen time are often cited as reasons why today’s children spend less time outside than previous generations.

The importance of outdoor play is something that has long been recognised in Scandinavian countries, where spending time outside is considered an essential part of childhood development. In Sweden, for example, children are encouraged to play outdoors throughout the year, regardless of the weather, with outdoor activity viewed as important for both physical health and mental wellbeing.

According to Olle Göransson, founder of North Trampoline, the company that carried out the research, the Scandinavian approach to childhood offers a useful perspective for families elsewhere.

“Growing up in Sweden, outdoor play is simply a normal part of everyday life,” he said.

“Children spend time outside throughout the year, climbing, cycling, skiing, exploring nature or playing in the garden. It’s seen as something that helps build confidence, resilience and independence.

“What’s interesting is that many parents in England want the same kind of childhood for their children that they remember from their own younger years. The places that rank highly in this research are often those where parks, playgrounds and safe streets make outdoor play part of daily life.”

Several other areas also ranked highly for outdoor childhood opportunities. Wiltshire, which placed near the top of the list, benefits from extensive countryside, national parks and open landscapes that offer children easy access to nature. North Yorkshire also performed strongly, thanks to its proximity to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, while Dorset ranked highly due to its combination of coastal access, parks and green space.

Research has consistently linked outdoor play with improved physical health, stronger social skills and better mental wellbeing among children. According to research summarised by UNICEF, time spent playing outdoors supports children’s emotional development, physical activity and learning outcomes.

However, several studies suggest that children today may spend significantly less time outdoors than previous generations. Save the Children found that only around 27% of children regularly play outside today, compared with 80% of older generations when they were young.

Göransson believes the findings underline the importance of protecting and investing in outdoor play environments for future generations.

“Outdoor play should still be a fundamental part of childhood in 2026. When children have easy access to parks, playgrounds and safe spaces to explore, it supports their health, their imagination and their independence in ways that indoor activities simply cannot replace.”

Top 10 places in England for an outdoor childhood

Many of the areas that scored lower in the ranking tend to be more densely populated urban locations, where higher traffic levels, fewer accessible green spaces and lower numbers of playgrounds per child can make outdoor play more challenging.

In built-up areas, parks and play facilities are often shared by larger populations, while busy road networks can also reduce the independence children have to move around neighbourhoods freely. The results do not necessarily reflect a lack of community spaces, but rather the pressure placed on them in places where large numbers of families live in relatively small areas.

Worst places in England for an outdoor childhood

ENDS

Greg Rutherford interviews: https://www.fqmagazine.co.uk/famous-fathers/item/467-olympic-champion-greg-rutherford-on-kids-fitness-and-preparing-for-hands-on-fatherhood.html

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2016-12-01/greg-rutherford-returns-to-hometown-to-share-life-story 

Methodology

The analysis combines multiple official government datasets to assess where children in England have the best opportunities for safe outdoor play.

Local authorities with fewer than 10,000 children aged 0–17 were excluded to reduce volatility in small population areas.

Playground provision was measured using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dataset “Number of Parks and Play Areas in Local Areas” (October 2024), which uses Ordnance Survey data to identify publicly accessible play areas across England and Wales.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/datasets/numberofparksandplayareasinlocalareasenglandandwales

This list formed the 129 areas in England the study would focus on. Playground access was calculated as the number of play areas per 10,000 children in each local authority.

Child population figures were sourced from the ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates (2023) for residents aged 0–17. These figures were used to standardise playground access and calculate road safety rates.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland

Access to nature was measured using the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) dataset “Access to Green and Blue Space in England”, which calculates the percentage of households within each local authority district located within a 15-minute walk of publicly accessible green or blue space.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-green-and-blue-space-in-england

Road safety was measured using the Department for Transport (DfT) Road Casualty Statistics (STATS19 provisional 2025 dataset). Casualty records were filtered to include pedestrians aged under 18, and totals were aggregated by local authority district. The STATS19 dataset is compiled from police reports of personal-injury road collisions across Great Britain.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/road-safety-open-data

To ensure fair comparisons between areas with very different population sizes, road safety was calculated as child pedestrian casualties per 10,000 children, using ONS population estimates.

To create a comparable index, each metric was normalised to a 0–100 score. Playground access and nature access were scored so that higher values indicate better access, while road safety was reversed so that areas with fewer child pedestrian casualties per 10,000 children receive higher scores.

The final Outdoor Childhood Score was calculated as the average of three components:

• Playground access score

• Nature access score

• Road safety score

Local authorities were then ranked from highest to lowest score to identify the areas offering the best opportunities for safe outdoor childhoods.

Full data can be viewed here.