York has the most parks in the UK, new study finds

The research by Blacks has revealed the cities with the most parks per 100,000 people in the UK as part of their search to find the most active city in the UK.

The study found that York is a great city to explore the outdoors and find an adventure, but it is also one of the best places for accessibility to parks, coming in at number one and boasting a total of 15 parks.

Rowntree Park in York (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson for The Friends of Rowntree Park group, which cares for the popular park in the city, said: "It's fantastic that the people of York have good access to parks and green spaces. These are so important to our physical and mental health.

"Rowntree Park is lovingly referred to by many in the area as 'our backyard' as many of the houses in the surrounding areas don't have gardens. Therefore it's lovely to see the community making full use of this space.

"As a charity, The Friends of Rowntree Park help maintain and improve the space, and we also run a range of volunteer programmes that help with this but also bring people together and create the feeling of community.

"In addition we run a range of events and activities that bring people together and help nurture a love of nature and the outdoors."

West Bank Park in Holgate in York during a summer event (Image: Newsquest)

While Norwich actually has more parks than York in total, it comes in second as when the study takes into account the population of the city, the 18 Norwich parks come to to 8.44 for every 100,000 people in the city.

Ipswich places in the top three, offering plenty of access to green spaces to its residents and visitors. With 15 parks in total, there are 8.39 for every 100,000 people

The study also looked at the cities with the lowest number of parks.

• READ MORE: Visually impaired York man set for epic Snowdon trek for charity.

Despite being one of the most populous towns in the UK, Luton offers the lowest number of parks per person, with just 1.16 parks per 100,000 people.

Twenty miles west of central London is Slough, which offers just 1.22 parks per 100,000 people. Slough has just two parks in the whole city, meaning its relatively small population still doesn’t get access to a great deal of open park space. 

Rounding off the top three cities with the fewest parks is the seaside resort of Blackpool, with 1.25 parks per 100,000 people. The seaside town is known more for its old-school amusement rather than access to open green spaces.