For families across the UK, a festive Christmas Day walk is a much-loved part of the celebrations.
After a morning of unwrapping presents and a day filled with indulgent food and drinks, heading outdoors offers the perfect chance to stretch your legs, walk off the festive snacking, and enjoy some quality time together before celebrations continue into the night. With this in mind, the experts at idealo analysed over 50 parks across the UK to uncover the nation’s most popular green spaces and highlight the perfect settings for a Christmas Day stroll, using key metrics such as park ratings, monthly Google searches, and the number of Instagram and TikTok posts.
The UK’s best parks for a festive Christmas day walk
|
Rank |
Park |
City |
Rating |
No. of Google searches |
No. of Instagram posts |
No. of TikTok posts |
|
1 |
Richmond Park |
London |
4.7 |
301,000 |
503,000 |
9,910 |
|
2 |
Hyde Park |
London |
4.6 |
450,000 |
104,000 |
12,000 |
|
3 |
Greenwich Park |
London |
4.6 |
165,000 |
250,000 |
6,781 |
|
4 |
Sefton Park |
Liverpool |
4.6 |
60,500 |
119,000 |
4,181 |
|
5 |
Hampstead Heath |
London |
4.7 |
246,000 |
4,154 |
83 |
|
6 |
Heaton Park |
Manchester |
4.1 |
135,000 |
110,000 |
4,718 |
|
7 |
Victoria Park |
Bath |
4.5 |
201,000 |
2,073 |
15 |
|
8 |
Roundhay Park |
Leeds |
4.6 |
40,500 |
77,200 |
1,433 |
|
9 |
Sutton Park |
Birmingham |
4.6 |
27,100 |
62,100 |
1,923 |
|
10 |
Weston Park |
Sheffield |
5 |
33,100 |
829 |
8 |
Sutton Park, with a 4.6 rating and 62,100 Instagram posts, is Birmingham’s top park for a Christmas Day stroll. As the biggest park in Birmingham and one of the largest urban parks in Europe, its massive 2,400-acre size offers heathland, woodland, wetland, marshes, and seven separate lakes. It is a National Nature Reserve located six miles north of the city centre and is a combination of natural landscapes providing a peaceful escape from the city, perfect for families seeking fresh air and festive outdoor activity.
Richmond Park tops the list as the perfect setting for a Christmas Day stroll. With a 4.7 rating, 301,000 monthly Google searches, and over 500,000 Instagram posts, this iconic London park transforms into a winter wonderland during the festive season. Families can wander along woodland paths dusted with frost, enjoy the crisp winter air, and spot roaming deer against a backdrop of bare winter trees, making it a truly magical and festive outing.
London is particularly lucky when it comes to Christmas Day walks, with four of the UK’s top parks located in the capital. Richmond Park, Hyde Park, Greenwich Park, and Hampstead Heath offer families a variety of festive strolls, from scenic woodlands and historic landscapes to open lawns perfect for winter picnics or spotting wildlife. Despite being in the heart of the city, these parks provide a peaceful green escape, allowing Londoners to enjoy fresh air, seasonal scenery, and quality family time without venturing far from home.
