This dataset is free to download without registration. It is reviewed and updated twice annually, normally in March and September, with stable column names wherever possible.

SHA-256: 1f3225d77cfeedbdfcca9e8a2590e625e72f2a24698d376f10119e0ae779f7fb

Data preview

rankstart placeend placedistance milesdistance kilometresinitial bearing degrees
1Hugh TownNorwick782.5431259.3813.81
2NorwickOld Town782.361259.087198.32
3LizardNorwick768.1951236.28911.2
4NorwickRuan Minor766.0921232.905194.78
5Mullion CoveNorwick765.7681232.38411.39

Data dictionary

rank
Position in this ranking.
start_place
First place in the pair.
start_county
County or equivalent area for the first place.
start_country
Country for the first place.
start_latitude
Latitude of the first place in decimal degrees.
start_longitude
Longitude of the first place in decimal degrees.
end_place
Second place in the pair.
end_county
County or equivalent area for the second place.
end_country
Country for the second place.
end_latitude
Latitude of the second place in decimal degrees.
end_longitude
Longitude of the second place in decimal degrees.
distance_miles
Great-circle surface distance in miles.
distance_kilometres
Great-circle surface distance in kilometres.
distance_metres
Great-circle surface distance in metres.
distance_feet
Great-circle surface distance in feet.
initial_bearing_degrees
Initial compass bearing from the first place to the second.
start_place_url
Permanent Postcodes UK page for the first place.
end_place_url
Permanent Postcodes UK page for the second place.

Methodology and sources

Every unique pair among 7,038 built-up places is compared using great-circle surface distance. The 500 longest pairs are retained. Each unordered pair appears once; places may appear in more than one pair.

  • Postcodes UK towns and places directory

Source datasets change over time and can contain omissions or revisions. Verify operational, admissions, financial or safety-critical decisions with the responsible authority.

Licence and suggested attribution

You may use this compilation for research, analysis and publishing with attribution to Postcodes UK and compliance with the applicable underlying source licences. The download does not transfer or override third-party rights.

Suggested attribution:

Source: Postcodes UK (postcodesuk.com), “500 Longest Place-to-Place Spans in Great Britain”, September 2026, https://postcodesuk.com/data-downloads/longest-place-spans. Derived from Postcodes UK location data and the named source datasets; underlying source rights and attribution statements apply.

Office for National Statistics and other public-sector information is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcode geography may contain Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail rights. HM Land Registry aggregates are derived from Price Paid Data. School fields derive from Department for Education and Ofsted sources.