Survey finds Derry has third largest area of free green outdoor space in the UK after London and Carlisle

Vanquis UK looked at 50 locations around the UK, collecting data on a range of topics including the number of gyms and average membership cost, as well as available exercise classes and public green space.

London enjoyed the largest area of free public green space (377,892,052 metres squared), followed by Carlisle in Cumbria (225,489,600m2), followed by Derry (168,147,341m2).

However, when our ample acreage was broken down by capita Derry ranked lower down the list.

The amount of green space per 100,000 people in Derry was 11,858,304m2 - 18th out of 50 cities.

Despite Derry’s abundance of freely available open air green space, including Brooke Park, St. Columb’s Park, Creggan Country Park, the Line, Culmore Country Park among many others, the city scored only 39th on the list of best cities for getting fit.

It appears Vanquis UK scored cities with more gyms, yoga classes, spin classes, boxing classes, park runs, athletic clubs and outdoor gyms more highly than Derry.

Exeter came out on top as the best place for people who prefer to head to the gym to keep fit, with 15 gyms in total, working out at 13 per 100,000 people. Carlisle came in second, with 11 gyms per 100,000 people, followed by Cardiff, with 9.

Preston was the best city for group exercise with a total of 14 yoga, spinning and boxing classes per 100,000 people. London takes a close second, with just over 13 classes per 100,000 people, followed by Cardiff with 13 per 100,000 people.

Belfast was ninth in the list overall but ranked 26th on free outdoor green space.