Fancy a grand day out with your four-legged friend? Here are a few ideas that go beyond a simple ‘walkies’.
Park
Dogs that love to run but don’t have great recall will thrive in Wrenbury Hall’s enclosed woodland in Nantwich, Cheshire. Totally secure with fencing around 1.5 metres high, it’s a totally safe space to let your dog off-lead to explore on its own. unleashedwrenbury.co.uk
Cinema
Ducie Street Warehouse in Manchester is a brilliant dog-friendly dining and drinking space with its own pet-friendly cinema. Check the run-times to find out which screenings are letting dogs in, pick up your popcorn and head in to enjoy a dog-friendly film on the big screen. duciestreet.com. Curzon cinemas in London, Canterbury, Knutsford and Sheffield also run Dog Day Afternoons, where you can bring your pet. The volume is lower, and there are also treats for dogs (and people). curzon.com
Café
There are dog-friendly cafés, and then there’s Love My Human Townhouse in London. Less dog-friendly and more dog-first, this pet-obsessed café is built for dogs. Anything goes here, with dogs encouraged to sit at the tables and on sofas, plus a full dog menu, because surely your pet deserves a brunch of scrambled eggs or a hearty lunch of beef Wellington with pumpkin purée? lovemyhuman.co.uk
Sport
Dog Masters Festival, in Bournemouth, is all about four-legged surfers. The UK dog surfing championships is held every July on Branksome Dene Beach, a soft, yellow-sand stretch, and features live music, street food and, of course, surfing dogs. shakasurf.co.uk
Festival
If you can imagine Glastonbury, but instead of bands, it’s dog experts, and instead of people, it’s dogs, then you’re picturing DogFest, the UK’s biggest and most chaotic dog-friendly festival, held at various stately homes around the UK. This two-day extravaganza, features fun dog shows, an obedience ring, expert speakers and fun dog displays, plus interactive activities such as hay-bale racing and agility, and is a riot for humans and dogs alike. dogfest.co.uk
These ideas are taken from Dog Days Out: 365 Things To Do With Your Dog In The UK And Ireland by Lottie Gross (Conway). You can read a longer extract in our September issue.
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