There is nothing quite like a scenic stroll with your furry friend, especially when exploring parts of nature that are new to you and your pup. Whether you are exploring serene countryside paths or bustling city parks, the right walk will make all the difference.
Dive into our blog as we share our top 30 favourite dog walks, which offer the perfect blend of exercise, exploration, and pure joy for you and your canine companion. So, grab your pup's leash and some treats, and prepare to embark on an exciting adventure with your furry friends!
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Our Favourite 30 Dog Walks in the UK
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Walks with My Dog FAQs
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Dog Walking Essentials with Pawdaw
Our Favourite 30 Dog Walks in the UK
Here are our personal favourite dog walks, perfect for every adventurous duo:
North East England
Distance: The entire path is 84 miles. Popular shorter sections range from 2 to 10 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: This walk includes rolling hills, fields, and steep climbs, particularly around the central section near Housesteads and Steel Rigg. This is a relaxing walk for you and your pup.
Distance: The Lakeside Way is a 26-mile loop around the reservoir. Shorter, well-marked trails range from 1 to 10 miles.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: It is primarily flat with some gentle inclines. Well-maintained paths suit your pup, regardless of their fitness level.
Distance: Various dog-friendly trails from 1 to 8 miles. Popular routes include the Forest Walk (1.5 miles) and the Becks Trail (7.5 miles)
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: The trails vary from gentle woodland paths to more challenging routes with steeper inclines and rough terrain. Choose the different trails depending on how experienced your dog is with challenging trails.
North West England
Distance: Popular dog-friendly routes typically range from 2 to 6 miles
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: These dog walks often feature a mix of parkland, countryside, and local trails with gentle inclines.
Distance: Popular dog-friendly trails range from 4 to 12 metres. For example, Catbells is 3.5 miles.
Difficulty: Easy to Challenging
Terrain: The Lake District offers everything from flat lakeside paths to strenuous mountain hikes with steep ascents and rugged terrain, so pick a route that is best suited to you and your dog's ability.
Distance: Approximately 6.5 miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: This walk includes rocky terrain and steep ascents, particularly near the stone circles. It’s well-suited for more experienced walkers and energetic dogs who enjoy a bit of a challenge.
Yorkshire & The Humber
Distance: The walk from Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby is about 6 miles one-way along the Cleveland Way.
Shorter local walks around the bay can range from 2 to 4 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: This walk includes coastal cliffs, rocky paths, and beach sections. The route consists of rugged coastal paths with steep inclines and occasionally muddy or uneven surfaces. For this walk, keeping your dog on their leash is important for their safety.
Distance: The immediate area around Whitby Abbey can be explored in about 1 to 2 miles. For a more extended walk, including coastal paths and town exploration, distances can vary from 3 to 6 miles.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: This walk has paved paths around the abbey, which has some grassy and uneven terrain. Coastal paths and town routes may include stairs, cobbled streets, and uneven surfaces.
Distance: Popular trails at Brimham Rocks range from 1.5 to 3 miles, with options for shorter or longer routes.
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: This walk has rocky outcrops with boulders, heathland, and woodland paths. The ground can be uneven, with significant rock formations and some steep sections. Again, keeping your dog on their leash is important for safety.
Midlands
Distance: There are various trails from 1 to 8 miles, with popular routes around the Major Oak and through the forest.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: This route consists of forest paths, woodland trails, and grassy areas. The terrain is mostly flat or gently rolling, with some uneven surfaces around the Major Oak and historical sites. Your dog should remain on a leash, especially around historical sites.
Distance: Popular trails range from 2 to 7 miles. The main valley walk is about 3.5 miles, while the longer options explore the surrounding hills.
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: Valley paths with streams, grassy meadows, and some rocky or uneven surfaces. The area features both easy, flat trails and more challenging hilly paths, so there is a good range of choice for pups of varying fitness levels.
Distance: Trails vary from 2 to 10 miles. Popular routes include the Birches Valley trail (about 3 miles) and the more extensive trails around the Chase.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: Woodlands, heathlands, and open fields. The terrain includes flat and hilly areas with uneven ground and varied surfaces. It is a very tranquil walk to relax both you and your dog.
South West
Distance: Trails range from 3 to 10 miles, with options for longer routes. Popular walks include the Valley of the Rocks (about 4 miles) and the North Devon Coast Path.
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: The terrain includes grassy slopes, rocky paths, coastal cliffs, and sometimes muddy or uneven ground, especially in wet weather.
Distance: Trails around The Lizard Peninsula vary from 2 to 8 miles. The Lizard Point Circular Walk is about 5 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: The terrain includes rugged cliff edges, grassy paths, and occasionally muddy or rocky sections. It is important to keep your dogs on a leash on this walk, especially close to the edges of the cliffs.
Distance: Bournemouth Beach is about 7 miles long from Hengistbury Head to the Pier. Depending on your preference, you can walk shorter sections.
Difficulty: Easy
Terrain: The beach offers a flat, sandy surface suitable for leisurely walks with your pup. The terrain is generally flat, though it can be uneven near the waterline, where the sand might be soft or wet.
South East
Distance: Trails vary from 2 to 10 miles. Popular walks include the Forest of Bere (about 6 miles) and the Tall Trees Trail (about 4 miles).
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: Many of these dog-friendly trails are flat and well-maintained, though some may have gentle slopes and varied surfaces.
Distance: The full walk along the South Downs Way from Seaford to Eastbourne is about 13 miles. Shorter segments, such as a 3- to 6-mile round trip, are available.
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: The walk includes steep climbs and descents along the cliff edges. The paths can be rough and exposed, so walking your dog with care is crucial over this terrain.
Distance: Approximately 2 to 4 miles for popular routes.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: Terrain includes grassy paths and well-maintained paths with some gradual inclines. This route is popular with dogs who love to sniff new parts of nature to their hearts’ content.
Greater London
Distance: The main route around the park is 2.5 miles long.
Difficulty: Easy
Terrain: This walk consists of well-maintained paths, lawns and some woodland areas. It is primarily flat and a great walk for your dog who enjoys a leisurely stroll.
Distance: Trails range from 2 to 10 miles. Popular routes include the Forest Walk (about 3 miles) and longer circular routes.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: Many trails comprise well-marked woodland paths and grassy areas, but some can be uneven and hilly.
Distance: Popular trails range from 2 to 5 miles.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: The terrain is primarily flat, with some areas of uneven ground and natural paths. It is a tranquil walk for a relaxing stroll with your pup.
Wales
Distance: 4 to 5 miles around the popular summit route.
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: These walks include mountain paths with rocky and uneven surfaces. They also include steep ascents and open moorland, which are great for your dog's environmental enrichment.
Distance: Trails range from 2 to 10+ miles. Popular routes include the ascent of Snowdon (about 6 miles round trip).
Difficulty: Moderate and Challenging
Terrain: Trails vary from gentle walks to strenuous mountain climbs. You can select a route that aligns with your and your pup's fitness level.
Distance: Trails range from 3 to 12 miles. Popular routes include Pen y Fan (about 4 miles round trip).
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: These dog-friendly trails include mountain paths, moorland, and rocky trails. It includes steep climbs and uneven surfaces, so walking carefully with your dog along these trails is important.
Scotland
Distance: 3 miles round trip
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: This trail includes forest paths, rocky terrain, and riverside trails. Parts of the terrain include steep climbs and some uneven ground. This walk may be more suitable for dogs with experience with hiking trails.
Distance: Popular walks range from 2 to 5 miles. The loop around Arthur’s Seat is about 2.5 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate
Terrain: The terrain consists of hills, rocky paths, and grassy areas. It includes steep inclines and varied surfaces, so it is important to be cautious when walking your dog over the different surfaces.
Distance: Popular walks range from 2 to 10 miles. The Loch Lomond Shores walk is about 3 miles.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: Most trails are well-marked and maintained, with some gentle inclines. The terrain includes woodland paths, loch-side trails and grassy areas.
Northern Ireland
Distance: Around 1 to 2 miles to explore the main area, with additional walks along the coastal path.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: The main trail is accessible to both humans and pups, but the coastal paths can be rugged. Be careful when walking your dog over rocky surfaces to ensure their safety.
Distance: Trails range from 1 to 5 miles. Popular routes include the primary forest trails and river walks.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Terrain: This walk consists of generally well-maintained paths with some gentle inclines. This walk is favourited among pet owners and dogs who are not used to walking long distances.
Distance: Trails range from 3 to 8 miles. Popular routes include the paths leading to the summit of Divis.
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
Terrain: This walk includes steep ascents and rugged terrain, making navigating some areas quite difficult. There is a lot of heathland and rocky areas, so it is preferable amongst more experienced walkers and dogs.
Walks with My Dog FAQs
How long should I walk my dog?
Generally, dogs in good physical condition can tolerate a 20-30 minute walk daily. Your dog's exercise will depend on the breed, as working dogs will need significantly more exercise than small dogs. Build your pup's fitness gradually by starting with short walks and building the length with time. This will help to avoid any injury.
What do I bring on a dog walk?
It is recommended to bring the following on your dog walk:
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Dog leash
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Collar with an identification tag
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Poop bags
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Cooling Coat for summer months
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Dog drying bag for wet and muddy pups to keep your car clean
How can I make walks more enjoyable for my dog?
Vary the walking routes, allow your dog time to sniff and explore, bring along their favourite toy, and incorporate training exercises and games into the walk. Ensuring that the walk is mentally stimulating can make it more enjoyable for your dog.
Dog Walking Essentials with Pawdaw
So, you now have several dog-friendly walking routes to choose from, so what's next? It is crucial to equip yourself with a range of dog-walking essentials that are designed to make your pup's trip out as comfortable as possible.
At Pawdaw, we believe that your pup should be pampered at every possible opportunity. This is why we have designed a range of products that will elevate your dog's daily walk and post-walk relaxation.
Choose our natural balm to protect your pup's paws while walking along rugged terrains, invest in our luxury dog cooling coat to keep your dog cool during those hot summer strolls, or wipe your dog's paws with the softest paw towel after they have been through muddy fields.
Explore our entire product range, or contact our expert team today to discover the best accessories that will add an element of luxury to your dog's adventures.
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