An excerpt from Dog Days Out – beaches to visit
Dog Days Out, the new book from writer Lottie Gross, is an indispensable companion for anyone travelling with a dog. Alongside some great things to do, it contains vital information on local rules and regulations, as well as our great dog-friendly places to stay. In this extract, we look at some of the beaches on which Lottie and her dog Arty spent some of their favourite Dog Days Out.
Sinclairs Bay, Highlands
Just north of Wick on the North Coast 500 driving route, this beach sits within a sheltered bay and is flanked by two 16th-century castles at each end. There’s good surf for those with their own boards, and you’ll often see seals and occasionally orcas from the sand.
Portobello Beach, Edinburgh
Edinburgh’s suburbs tumble down all the way to the coastline overlooking the Firth of Forth, and Portobello Beach is the city’s answer to Ipanema. There’s a bustling boardwalk where locals come for running, skating or sipping coffee with a sea view, and a sandy beach split by wooden groynes where your pets can roam around the sand off-lead. It gets busy in summer, so come out of season for a more relaxing time, and don’t miss a trip into Harry’s Gourmet Treats on the high street, where you can buy freshly baked dog biscuits. Beach wheelchair hire is available here.
Explore our dog-friendly places to stay in Scotland >
Nanjizal Beach, Cornwall
A hidden cove only accessible on foot along the South West Coast Path from either Land’s End (2km) or Porthgwarra (3km), Nanjizal is well worth the walk. It’s all about drama and geology here, with towering cliffs, vast sea caves and enchanting rockpools.
Make a night of it: Artist Residence in nearby Penzance is both creatively quirky and homely all at once, with unusual artworks and design pieces throughout its rooms.
Explore our dog-friendly places to stay in Cornwall >
Beer Beach, Devon
Walk down the plunging hill that leads on to the shingles of Beer Beach and you’ll find yourself surrounded by white limestone cliffs within a delightfully sheltered bay. Dogs can roam the eastern end of this beach year-round, where boats lean to on the pebbles, having spent the morning out on the ocean seeking fish to sell ashore, and a few ramshackle cafes set amid the beach huts serve up English breakfasts and cream teas. With its calm waters, this bay is a fine spot for swimming and rentable deck chairs make a comfy spot to relax after a dip with the dog. Don’t forget to pick up a fresh catch from Beer Fisheries on your way back to the village – fresh crab, mussels, cockles and scallops abound in this modest little fishmonger overlooking the beach. For a meal with a view, eat dinner in the clifftop garden of the Anchor Inn, where you can watch the sun set over the sea as you dine on the catch of the day.
Explore our dog-friendly places to stay in Devon >
Saltburnby-by-the-sea, North Yorkshire
Not only is Saltburn Beach a gloriously wide sweep of soft sand with wonderful views of the surrounding cliffs and the grassy hilltops that back it, but it’s also got some intriguing history and a few entertaining dog-friendly attractions. The town that surrounds this vast beach was built up by the Victorians as it became a popular seaside resort, a status that made it proud home of the North East’s only pleasure pier – once more than 450 metres long, it’s now just 205 metres after storms battered its original construction. Another delightful legacy from the Victorians is the clifftop tramway, which ferries passengers from the town down to the pier or vice versa.
Explore our dog-friendly places to stay Yorkshire >
Winterton-on-sea beach, Norfolk
Beyond the small town of Winterton and a vast grassy dune system, this beach spreads out long the coastline and has a wide expanse of soft sand, which is still sizeable even when the tide is in. Dogs can run around off-lead as there’s plenty of space even during the busy summer months. Come winter, dogs will need to be kept on a lead as this stretch is a breeding ground for seals, which have their white fluffy pups between November and January. Never approach seals; they can be dangerous.
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Dungeness Beach, Kent
Dungeness is a love it or hate it kind of place. Some might say it’s depressing and ugly, while others fall head over heels in love with the bleak beauty of its enormous, flat expanse of shingle, littered with rusting winches from former fishing fleets and abandoned boats. A clear-sky day helps, bathing the beach in golden light, but if you’re into melancholy, the landscape takes on an eerie air in winter when the skies are grey and few visitors bother with its shores. Fresh fish lunches are available from the Snack Shack.
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Bamburgh Beach, Northumberland
Beaches rarely get better than Bamburgh. You’ve got a golden (sand) trifecta of treats here: towering dunes for sweeping coastal views, a wide and flat expanse of beach that seems to never end, and a formidable castle lording over it all like some sort of sleeping giant. It is,
without doubt, one of Britain’s finest – not least because the dog can run around here all year with no restriction. Beach wheelchairs are available for hire from Beach Access North East.
Explore our dog-friendly places to stay Northumberland >
Written by
Lottie Gross
Lottie has spent four years finding the best dog-friendly places in the UK and around Europe with her dogs and putting them into books and articles for Bradt Guides, The Telegraph and The Times. Arty, her Manchester Terrier, is refined creature who prefers the finer things in life, while Lottie is a keen walker in any weather, much to her dog’s dismay.
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