Holidaying with our dog

[pubrunner]

Hi All,

We are looking to have a family holiday in August and we are going to take our dog. She is a large beast (a Ridgeback) and we'd like to be able to let her off the lead, so that she can dash around and burn off a little steam.

Accordingly, we would like to stay somewhere that is in a countryside location {or small town/village} and handy for dog walking. We would also like to be close to a relatively quiet beach - hard to find in August. We have a very friendly dog, but understandably, some people can find her size a little intimidating. Whilst she spends virtually all the time sleeping, on a very busy beach, there will be more chance of her getting distracted by other dogs - I'm keen to avoid any nuisance value.

Last time, we went to up to Northumberland and it really ticked all these ^^^ boxes; we stayed in Wooler, which was great for walking the dog and it wasn't far from the brilliant beach at Bamburgh. We also took a couple of trips over the border, to Eyemouth and St. Abbs - great beaches ! Northumberland was great, 'cos it wasn't overly 'touristy', but neither was it too remote and we found plenty to do.

We'd never been to Northumberland previously, but we loved it ! We would be more than happy to stay in the region again; but just for a change, I can't help wondering if there is another part of the UK, which might offer something on similar lines ?

Can anyone suggest any places that have attractive countryside and quiet(ish) beaches ?.

 

[BrumJim]

Nairn, Scotland?

 

[pubrunner]

Nairn, Scotland?

Phew ! It'd be a long drive ! We'd have to make a few stops for the dog, as it is a 7.5 hour drive !

. . . . . . . but the beaches look great; in fact, apart from the distance involved, it looks to tick every box.

Thank's for a great suggestion - I'll put it on my shortlist !


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By the way, haven't you yet broken 20 minutes for 5K ?

I remember discussing this with you on the Hereford Ride that you organised a few years back - you are more than capable of cracking that barrier.

 

[Dave7]

Where ever you choose let me know so I can avoid it
Me and dogs off leads (especially VERY BIG dogs) don't get on.

 

[pubrunner]

Me and dogs off leads (especially VERY BIG dogs) don't get on.

Mine ain't one of these that will seek to remove your arm, under the guise of "she's only playing".

She sleeps virtually all of the time - even at the beach; the main issue, is when other people allow their dogs to run wildly around out of control and challenge her right to have a quiet kip on the beach - which, let's face it, is all that adults (& dogs) can do at the beach.

 

[pubrunner]

North Norfolk? Lots of long and relatively empty beaches. Lots of things to see and do.

This suggestion seems a possibility - I see that the area you've mentioned, is a AONB, so that sounds good.

I have to confess, I don't really know any areas (apart from Yorkshire) on the East of the UK - I don't know Suffolk or Lincolnshire either - what are the Lincolnshire Wolds like ?

 

[pubrunner]

Lincolnshire.... just don't!

Ha Ha !

. . . . . . . we won't.

Suffolk is lovely. Good market towns, lots of beaches and places of interest.

Cool, anywhere in particular ?

 

[TreeHuggery]

Yorkshire Moors - and then a trip out to Redcar for a day at the beach? definitely not the prettiest of beaches but quiet and lots of rock pools

 

[Mrs M]

Nairn is lovely but there's occasionally horses on the beach.
They might scare her or she might want to join in and scare them.

 

[SteveF]

Hi All,

We are looking to have a family holiday in August and we are going to take our dog. She is a large beast (a Ridgeback) and we'd like to be able to let her off the lead, so that she can dash around and burn off a little steam.

Accordingly, we would like to stay somewhere that is in a countryside location {or small town/village} and handy for dog walking. We would also like to be close to a relatively quiet beach - hard to find in August. We have a very friendly dog, but understandably, some people can find her size a little intimidating. Whilst she spends virtually all the time sleeping, on a very busy beach, there will be more chance of her getting distracted by other dogs - I'm keen to avoid any nuisance value.

Last time, we went to up to Northumberland and it really ticked all these ^^^ boxes; we stayed in Wooler, which was great for walking the dog and it wasn't far from the brilliant beach at Bamburgh. We also took a couple of trips over the border, to Eyemouth and St. Abbs - great beaches ! Northumberland was great, 'cos it wasn't overly 'touristy', but neither was it too remote and we found plenty to do.

We'd never been to Northumberland previously, but we loved it ! We would be more than happy to stay in the region again; but just for a change, I can't help wondering if there is another part of the UK, which might offer something on similar lines ?

Can anyone suggest any places that have attractive countryside and quiet(ish) beaches ?.

If you fancy Wales then, we stay in Llangennith on the Gower occasionally with a few dogs (my Sister has a Ridgeback), the Kings Head is very dog friendly and does accommodation that's dog friendly as well.

However we do tend to rent a house nearby, use (http://www.homefromhome.com/), there are two beaches within walking distance Rhosilli and Broughton, both fantastic.

 

[sanddancer]

Llyn peninsula or Anglesey

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/jul/18/top-10-secret-secluded-beaches-wales

 

[Brandane]

No, not the Caribbean, it is the Outer Hebrides:

Drive to Oban, then relax on a nice ferry crossing for 4 hours and you're there.
All you need is some favourable weather, which is not guaranteed - but may surprise you. A couple of years ago the western isles had a good summer, while further south in the central/west of Scotland it rained for the most part.

 

[pubrunner]

Due to one other thing that dogs do on the beach, they are not allowed on the beaches here in the summer months. Maybe check that out before you book somewhere.

That's a good point, before we went to Northumberland, we checked that dogs are allowed on the beaches.

Regarding dogs pooping, this problem is something that occurs too frequently (with the dogs of other people). It's quite simple really, I feed my dog at a specific time each day and she poops at a specific time each day - she's very reliable in her timing, so accordingly, it is easy to plan a trip to the beach. Rather sad, that other dog owners can't be bothered to get their timings right.

 

[pubrunner]

No, not the Caribbean, it is the Outer Hebrides:

Drive to Oban, then relax on a nice ferry crossing for 4 hours and you're there.
All you need is some favourable weather, which is not guaranteed - but may surprise you. A couple of years ago the western isles had a good summer, while further south in the central/west of Scotland it rained for the most part.

This ^^^ is superb and I'd love to go there; however, I'm doing my 'remote' trip in July, when I'm off up to Shetland - with kids, but minus missus & dog.

In Shetland, we'll be staying close to here :

This is my favourite beach in Shetland :

If you are slightly (?) misanthropic (like me ), such places are paradise, with barely a soul in sight - just the kind of places that I like !

It's very noticeable, that on these photos of Shetland & the Western Isles, the sea is so clean !

Actually @Brandane , it's an awful place - don't go there, it's rubbish; please don't share such images, or recommend it to anyone else.

 

[Paulus]

Last year we stayed in Egton, North Yorkshire. it is near to Whitby and we found some lovely quiet beaches around the area. The pub we stayed in is called the Postgate inn, it is dog friendly, the owner is the chef and his food is wonderful. Plenty of good real ale as well. It makes a good base to explore the moors, beaches and the Dalby forest near Pickering.

http://www.postgateinn.com/