Day Fifteen. We have hit the THIRD week of isolation.
As the UK enters its third week on coronavirus lockdown, the death toll has increased by 441 to a new total of 5,375. Will this lockdown be extended? What will happen next?
66 million people live in the UK and 26% of the population owns a furiendly k9. That’s approx 9.9 million dogs in the UK alone.
A lot of these dogs will be owned by a human that falls into the HIGH RISK category. Happily, there is no evidence to confirm that humans can catch COVID-19 from our lovable dogs and humans cannot affect them either. (Phew, that’s a relief)
Those people who are self-isolating as a precaution or protecting themselves from infection can still walk their dogs. Obviously you need to keep away from other people (guidance states 2 meters or 6ft) but some fresh air out and about for your “one form of exercise a day” can help offset the effects of being alone indoors.
If you are self-isolating because you are showing symptoms or have tested positive OR are in the high risk category and have received a text message and/or letter from the government stating that you have been identified as someone that must stay inside; it is advised that you do not leave your house and garden. Whilst this might cause concern for dog owners because they feel like they aren’t exercising their dog, that truly isn’t the case. There are lots of things you can do to keep your dog mentally stimulated and active throughout the “lockdown” days.
Games and training
Playing retrieve games in the house or garden will also help keep a lot of dogs happy and physical.
Trick training is great fun too! There are lots of tutorials online to guide you through the training.
Scent games are also loved by lots of dogs. Just hide your dogs favourite toy ie KONGS or treats somewhere in the house or garden, and then encourage them to find it.
Enrichment feeding is an excellent way of occupying your dogs time, and challenging their brain e.g snuffle matts
The friendship that our dogs give us during our times of need is immeasurable and yet, they have no idea what’s going on in the big wide world because their world revolves around us, their owners. They are happy and healthy as long as we are happy and healthy for them.
Remember we are in this together and we will get out of this together so stay strong and give your dog a hug.
As they say ‘Just keep swimming!’ – Dory, Finding Nemo
I own a retired Irish ex-racing Greyhound and he doesn’t have the best of confidence with every day situations. Although I have owned him since 2 years old and he is now 5 years old, its tough to establish confidence in a dog that didn’t have the best start in life. He is so much more confident now and is acting like a real ‘dog’ (unless it comes to newspaper where he acts more like a 2 month old puppy).
Recently, I was thinking what would help his confidence even more than usual. Like, thinking ‘out-of-the-box’ type of scenario.Last summer (2019) he spent a lot of time playing with spaniels and absolutely enjoyed each moment with them and their energy…until they jumped in the water.
My greyhound also has an old racing injury which swells up during winter runs. This concern always in my mind when going on long walks in winter.
That’s when it hit me! Like an obvious little lightning bolt finally awoken my brain… HYDROTHERAPY!!!
Not only would it help strengthen his old ankle injury but hydrotherapy is amazing for confidence (and darn cute to watch them in little life jackets finding their feet within the warmth of the water).
What is Hydrotherapy and in what ways can it help my pooch?
Hydrotherapy is a weight free and low impact form of exercise beneficial in treating a wide range of conditions in dogs of all ages including: Arthritis, soft tissue injuries and strains, hip and elbow dysplasia, pre and post surgery conditioning, weight loss and general fitness.
Rehabilitation Reason
Post surgery rehabilitation.
Post injury recovery.
Arthritis.
Increased circulation.
Relief from pain, stiffness & swelling.
Improved joint flexibility.
Fitness reasons
Weight loss.
Cardiovascular fitness.
Muscle conditioning.
Increase stamina & fitness.
Increased energy.
General better health.
Fun Reasons
Learning to swim.
Swim with your dog.
Improve social skills.
Improve confidence
Playtime retrieving toys.
Bond with your dog
We are very lucky to be so close (20 mins drive away) to Beachin Dog Therapy Pool which is Cheshire’s largest purpose built Dog Hydrotherapy Pool. The 8m x 5m heated pool is housed in a log cabin (very well kept and clean looking) offering rehabilitation, fitness and fun sessions for dogs of all sizes and ages.
Their large heated pool allows dogs of all sizes from tea cup pups to striding hounds to swim freely in a safe and clean environment. Each session includes a post swim fresh warm water rinse (which is my dogs favourite part) and use of the dog drying room with dog grooming dryer/blaster if required.
They have three amazing qualified instructors (two of which we have met and found so welcoming, bubbly and confident in what they do which is always reassuring when your dog doesn’t know how to swim and is so anxious in new situations).
What you can expect on your dogs swimming session.
At Beachin Dog Therapy Pool ‘we offer a professional friendly service in a relaxed atmosphere’. Understandably you may have concerns about what to expect when you arrive for your dogs first hydrotherapy or fun swimming session so their aim is to make your experience with ‘us as relaxed and stress free as possible for both you and your dog’, which they successfully do.
Sessions last 30 minutes with each dog receiving exclusive use of the pool with an instructors help or them just supervising.
Drying facilities are available free of charge; the owner is responsible for drying their dog. Please bring a towel for drying round the face and ears.
Owners are invited to get involved in the session and should be prepared to get wet because my dogs confidence is lacking and he finds safety within my presence, it gave me a peace-at-mind that I was allowed to jump in the pool with him and help him around the pool myself whilst someone instructed me to help him. It has boosted my confidence as well knowing that I am able to help my dog become more stronger and confident in the pool whilst being taught myself, routines and different ways of approaching him in the pool and how to handle him in such a different way. It defiantly has given us more bonding time and activities that we didn’t think we needed.
I was informed that some dogs don’t like it the first couple of sessions and especially with my dog being a greyhound, it would take a while for him to actually relax and enjoy it but after our third session, you can see such a major difference with his swimming capabilities. He can now swim by himself in the middle of the pool from corner to corner without and help or unnecessary, massive splashes.
I cannot recommend this place enough. It’s absolutely amazing. If you are looking for fitness reasons, rehabilitation reasons or just for a little bit of unique fun… THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO!! We have our fourth session booked in for next week already and I can’t wait to see the progress he has made from this weeks session to next weeks session!
P.S It will do your active dog good and send them into a nice big deep sleep for a couple hours, which means… the bed is not yours anymore, on the days of swimming sessions, it belongs to your fur baby!!!
Ahh autumn the best time of year for forest walks with your furry friend. Obi and I enjoyed walking among the beautifully coloured trees and leaves that had so effortlessly fallen to the ground carpeting the mud beneath our feet and exposing the branches of above trees that are now standing proudly naked for everyone to gaze upon. Where is such a perfect place to walk in autumn?
Delamere Forest, a large wood land only 30 minutes drive (depending on traffic) from Chester city center. This beautiful forest/woodland is 972 hectares worth of gorgeous walking trails, bike trails, equestrian trails and more. Delamere Forest is the largest area of woodland in the county and is home to a Go Ape center for the kids, Cafe, Bike Hire, Picnic Areas and many more things; although I must admit we were so deep into the forest trails Obi, my partner and myself didnt stumble across the cafe area or bike hire or go ape center but we did see many, MANY, M.A.N.Y dogs and their owners. It was lovely to see everybody out and about with the families and their furry children running around with tails up in the air wagging from side to side.
Fun Fact: Delamere meaning the ‘forest of lakes’ doesn’t fall short when it comes to many water views, lakes, little streams and clear banked walls which are obviously there for winter when certain areas flood or overflow. It is also an outdoor concert venue at certain times of the year.
We ventured into the forest after finding a place on the side of the road to park. There are certain dedicated car parks but several are pay and display whereas others are just over flowing with glinting windscreens playing ping pong with the little bursts of sunlight that shines through the trees to bounce off the cars (in normal words: full! they were all so full!)
Whacking on those wellies and walking straight into the mud, with every step deeper into the forest I know for certain that during the rainy seasons its defiantly a hiking boots and wellies type of walk.
Delamere is full of gorgeous routed and most of them circular or leading onto a circular walking meaning that you could walk for an hour up to 4 hours and look round the whole forest depending on how energetic you and your dog want to be.
There is only one major problem which is the lack of poo bins- I mean, yes, I get it that we are meant to be in a forest that would rarely have bins on the trails the deeper you go but I didn’t see one dog bin until we had walked 45 mins and ended up near one of the provided overflowing carparks. Which is a bit irritating when the amount of dogs we saw and owners not holding poo bags meant that most chances of the owners picking up the poo are not great and although christmas hasn’t arrived yet, we did see Christmas tree ornaments (full poo bags) attached to trees. Evermore, having to scan around where you step just in case you step on something that wasn’t mud is a bit of stress that is not really wanted.
BUT, since I have a very tired out hound from walking for only an hour around Delamere forest I must say that its a perfect place for a relaxing walking with your partner, family or dog (s).
Score is in: 4/5 wagging tails for Delamere Forest!! (yes it is literally because of the no poo bins at all, that it has lost a point- in my opinion)
Dog Furiendly is hosting the UK’s biggest virtual dog show to raise money for charities who desperately need funds to support our society during this difficult time battling against COVID-19 or better known as Coronavirus. To do this, dog furiendly has made 22 pawfect categories to choose from with a whole host of amazing prizes and rosettes including tickets from dogstival, subscriptions, bandanas, collars, treats and so much more.
All you have to do is visit http://dogfuriendly.com/barkaid and upload a photo to one of the woof-tastic categories. I know it sounds too simple… but it’s true, that’s all you have to do.
Entries are £1.50 and all proceeds go to the chosen charities.
At times like this, we all need to stop and think about how to help others and protect the ones we love. It’s hard staying away from family and not being able to see your friends but in the meantime we can lend a helping paw or four to help our society and the most vunerable in our communities.
Dog furiendly and partnering dog-related businesses, aim to lift community spirits with ‘one big collective paw print.’
Dog furiendly have gone above and beyond to get people and their pooches involved by sharing blogs, up-to-date advice, ideas to improve physical and mental health and positive articles.
There is obviously merch that looks amazing and is great quality to be purchased:
The last entries will be 23rd April at 9:00AM. No entries will be accepted past this date.
Winners will be announced after judging. Announcement will be on the 1st May 2020 via Facebook live on Facebook.com/dogfuriendly. Make sure you give dog furiendly a follow to keep up to date with the competition announcements.
Autumn is here. With its beautiful coloured leaves keeping the ground warm and wet (and slippery) and the cold breeze that kisses your nose with an icy affect making it apparent that “winter is coming” (G.o.T reference).
This experience was acknowledged in our walkies today; All humans wrapped up with wellies, coats and beanies most dogs ran around, sniffing every twig that must be sniffed with their cute little coats on them. Obi, being as fashionable as greyhounds can be, sported a bright fluorescent yellow light weight coat. Which makes him stand out from a million miles away in autumn conditions because being red brindle seems to be very good at camouflaging.
Wepre Park is 160 acres of amazing dog friendly walks taking you to green flat grass or adventures within the woods. This park is nestled in the heart of Connahs Quay. This one park has almost everything for a good day out with the dogs and family such as Old Hall Gardens, Brook and Waterfall, acres of beautiful woodland walks and Ewloe Castle ruins for everyone to explore around. A children’s playground which is close to the FREE carparking area (which there is plenty of spaces) two football pitches, a fishing pool and Visitor Centre which has toilets and a little cafe which is very useful for bringing little children along and allowing them to play around with the dogs and not having to leave because there isn’t any toilets.
Obi enjoyed showing his big smile whilst we walked into the forest past the brook and waterfall and all the way up (Up as in yes there are stairs) to Ewloe Castle, a beautiful mystery hidden away from peoples destructive hands since the early 13th century. Along the way if you wish to stop and take in the beautiful scenery and birdsong than benches can be found scattered around the woods.
Now, again with all pros comes cons and pleasantly only a couple. Now this park is listed as disabled friendly but for all those dog walking people that are disable and will unfortunately tell you otherwise. If you are going around the gardens, playground and cafe then, yes by all means it is very accessible for buggies and wheelchairs but if you are wanting to walk your dog to the brook, waterfalls, meadows and woodlands then its not easily accessible. To get to the castle you must go across some tiny wooden bridges of the water which potentially might not fit certain wheelchairs, mobility scooters or prams. Not only that, but their are stairs that must be climbed in certain areas of the walk, especially getting to the castle and the paths (naturally since its in the woods)is covered in nature!!! Dirt, mud, slippery leaves, stones, proper rocks and sticks therefore pushing a wheelchair or pram or anything else like that would be a complete mission to try and conquer.
I did say there were a ‘couple’ of cons so for my second one it is about the dreaded doggie poo bins scattered around the place. Now for all the bouncing, sniffing, tail waving dogs we came across I was utterly surprised that we only came across ONE poo bin and that was halfway through our walk. ONLY ONE.
I think Obi enjoys all these walks as he never seems to really hate exploring places like this but for a dog owner and someone who has disabled friends and friends with young babies (therefore prams)the wooded walk wouldn’t be great to do with family. Just because of misleading signs and symbols saying that it is disabled friendly and remember this is just in my opinion. Therefore, Obi and myself only give 3.5/5 wagging dog tails.
Score is in: 3.5/5 wagging dog tails for Wepre Park woods walk.
Finally, nice weather with no hiccups of rain to stop us from doing a decent circluar walk around Caldy Valley Nature Park. But….since it has been raining alot recently, let the pre warning of whacking on those wellies begin.
Although footpaths are provided around the park, there are some places that do get muddy especially since the path seems to become a dirt path at times depending on which route you want to do. So hiking water proof shoes or wellies is a good idea before even considering going here during this time of year (autumn/winter/ any rainy days, weeks, months of English weather)
Caldy Nature Park is a ‘contains it all’ kind of park. Meaning that as you walk around you have features of woodlands, wetlands and also meadows (even an actual climbing frame made out of logs and ropes for the little ones to become monkeys). Close to the city centre of Chester and on the other side of Chester Meadows about a 15 minute walk away is this lovely dog friendly walk around which is between 1hr to 1 1/2 hrs long to complete depending on the routes.
From the car park there is a circular route around the nature park that can be navigated by the park map next to the parking lot. There are several benches around the site and other paths within the park however some of these have steps so might not be accessible for some people. Saying that, if you stick to the well seen concrete footpath that may contain puddles and mud during the wet seasons- than not great for disabled accessibility. Although On the nice sunny summer days that England does occasionally get than, yes, it is accessible to disabled people.
Another lovely add on is the fact there are plenty of park tables as well to have a lovely picnic lunch with all the family including the fur-family dogs. Let’s not forget about poo bins though… Plenty!!! I was amazed to find how many poo bins were provided so you wouldn’t have to walk very long before you were able to discared of any poo bags/picnic rubbish.
Access to the FREE car par is on Caldy Valley Road there is a dedicated disable parking bay (ONLY ONE THOUGH) and the car park is open all the time. There are no refreshments or toilets on site which is kind of annoying if you were having a lovely family, picnic day out and one of the family members need the loo than you would all have to clamber back in the car to find somewhere local with public toliets. #inconvenience.
Another amazing point is the little sulpture art that is allocated around the park… from actual rock statues, to funky looking metal art on some of the bridges gives this a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ (for people that don’t know french it means ‘a quality that cannot be described or named easily’)
There are alot of dog walkers around and not all of them have their dogs on leads so just be mindful that dogs running up to your dog to say ‘hi’ is defiantely a thing so if your dog doesn’t like that than to 1. keep a close eye on what is infront of you and your dog and 2. just keep him/her on a shorter leash and prepare.
I think because we wore appropriate footwear it wasn’t much of a problem but if we had of worn normal trainers or converses than I get why it would be slightly annoying since people do say that there is a ‘concrete’ path but it still is muddy, slippery and puddle filled in some places.
So, because of that and because of the lack of public toliets and limited disability access than we will give this dog friendly walk more of a 3.5 wagging tails out of 5 (but this is down to personal preferance)
Score is in: 3.5 / 5 wagging tails for Caldy Valley Nature Park!!
If you get close to the inside of a hounds ear to take a glimpse of the green scribbles than you should know that these random letters and numbers can actually be very useful to find amazing facts about your greyhound and their past or present. These EAR TATTOOS are given to the little greyhound puppies at 3 months old and can be the key to unlocking the records of racing information, identifying your lovely hounds racing name, names and records of your dog’s littermates and the dogs lineage (very useful when tracing back to make a hard copy of your hounds Pedigree).
Now depending on where your greyhound was born they may have either ONE tattoo in the RIGHT ear or they may have TWO tattoos- meaning one tattoo in each ear.
LEFT Ear: Now if your greyhound was registered in the U.S then the left ear would contain a litter registration number that is FIVE digits long and would be registered on the National Greyhound Association.
If your greyhound was registered in Ireland than the left ear will contain only THREE digits. In a few cases dogs that have been raced in the UK and Ireland, the tattoos are a mixture of Irish and English markers.
RIGHT Ear: The right ear will have a combination of two to three scribbles that should consist of three letters and one number but when litters are bigger than usual and consisting of eight or more puppies than they will replace the ONE number to a letter therefore meaning there will be four letters in your dogs ear. For Example: Three letters and One number = ABC 1 Three letters and one extra letter (litters over 8) = ABC D
English registered greyhounds: English racing greyhounds only have tattoos in one ear only and is always the right ear. The first letter in the ear indicates the year of whelp (the year the litter was born) but just like car licence plates year of whelp can often overlap into the next year.
For example: VX = 2013 UV = 2012 TU = 2011 ST = 2010 RS = 2009
Irish Registered greyhounds: Irish racing greyhounds have BOTH ears tattooes and usually consists of two letters in the RIGHT ear and three letters in the LEFT ear. Again, as said before the first letter of the tattoo in the right ear establishes the year your greyhound was born in.
For example: R = 2016 Q = 2015 P = 2014 N = 2013 M = 2012
Ryecroft Meadow is a beautiful 4-acre field in the countryside location of Gresford in Wrexham. The field is perfect for dogs that cannot be let off in public areas, giving the sense of security for all dog owners and to work on training or nervous dogs and for you to feel less stressed and confident whilst letting your dog off-lead in a large area.
The best thing about this field is that its available all year round, unlike other dog fields, for exclusive hire and also playtime sessions for dogs to socialise, learn and play with other dogs.
It is Obi’s 5th Birthday today and we decided to take him to Ryecroft Meadows for a Medium and Large dog playtime session. He absolutely loved it. I mean he could not stop smiling the whole 1 hour we were there.
Upon entry of Ryecroft Meadows it is very easy to see signs directing you through the working farmyard to a small car park which is provided for the dog field. It is very accessible for any car especially considering we drive a little Toyota AYGO- this is saying something.
You must have purchased a space for your dog to come along as they have to control the number of dogs at these play sessions. Using the name of the person who will be attending on the day with your dog, you are greeted by a young lady with a warm smile at the gate which will correctly match you up with the booking details.
There is a rule that because it is a working farm dogs must be kept on leads until they have entered the dog field and shut the gate fully behind them. This securing the dogs within the field. Once everybody for the booking has arrived and have entered the dog field you will be allowed to let your dogs off the lead to run and prance around like the crazy animals they are… in this case my silly dog went straight to the long grass in the corner and started gobbling the grass as if he hadn’t ever seen food before, which is defiantly not the case (secretly a cow apparently).
The field is massive and at the bottom of the field is loads of cute little enrichment activities such as play tyres, a sandpit and various toys. There is also a picnic table and a garden seat that could be of interest if you wanted to sit down with other owners and chat about doggie things whilst they wildly run around playing with each other. Water bowls are also provided and it didn’t take long for Obi to sniff those out and re-hydrate after sprinting around with other large dog breeds.
There is also a poo bin next to the gate which is very handy for when leaving the field so you can easily discard of the dogs waste (which must be cleaned up by the owner).
For our dog- we thought this was a fantastic way for Obi to make new friends and actually have a proper run around without us having to far him spotting a hedgehog or squirrel a million miles away (greyhound= stupidly great sight) and than have to look like an idiot running after the fastest dog in the world whilst he sprints off into the distance without you. The playtime session happens every week and we have decided to go every week for Obi’s sake as he really enjoyed the attention from other dogs. For only £4.50 each dog for 1 whole hour (plenty of time for your dogs to play and get tired)- why say no?
I must recommend in wet weather to take wellies or proper water proof hiking shoes as it is a field consisting of some uneven bits and variety of grass lengths therefore you will get wet whilst walking around the dog field if the English weather is being a bum and raining.
I couldn’t give anything less than 5 out of 5 wagging dog tails for this field as the sense of safety and security is there and its not a small field its a massive 4 acre open grass field and Obi really enjoyed himself with all the other dogs that attended today’s session. Hopefully, we will see you at the next play session with your wagging fur-riends.
Score is in: 5/5 wagging tails for Ryecroft Meadows Enclosed Dog Field.
‘So, how are you feeling today?’ You can ask the question but the dog will never be able to answer so that you could understand. This is frustrating for not only the dog but the human as well. I never thought I would have to talk about dogs and anxiety. No, I don’t mean the normal type of anxiety when it comes to fireworks and thunderstorms but the ‘every day’ anxiety that my greyhound was diagnosed with recently after a trip to the vets.
Let’s start from the beginning shall we? Obi (my greyhound) has always been a very timid dog, even before I adopted him. He has never come out of his shell full and is always on edge but some of that could be because of his racing career and I just learned to accept it.
Until…
Recently we have moved and he was settling in just like he normally does until a couple weeks ago when all of a sudden he started acting very strangely (well, more than normal). We started to notice things like he was licking his paws all the time and didn’t want to go on walks AT ALL!! Also, every time we would let him outside he would hide in a bush at the end of our garden and refused to come out no matter what we did so always had to end up getting his lead and dragging him out (not harshly) but this was very unlike Obi. Anything could happen and he would react straight into flight mode… and it was just getting worryingly silly. Therefore, a trip to the vets and £60 for an appointment ended up being very necessary.
Describing all of these symptoms and even his personality within the vets was enough for the vet to agree that he had anxiety. Now, the vet decided to try us on the first approach to tackling his anxiety ‘ADAPTIL on-the-go collar’ and a list of dog behaviorists local to us.
I am going to be completely honest with you. I didn’t think the collar was going to work until about 2 days ago (TWO WEEKS after going to the vets) It does take its time to kick in but just before you start to give up on the collar working…it kicks in and you start to see your dog become a dog again.
The collar is really easy to use. All you have to do is put the collar around your dog’s neck and adjust it per the instructions. Then, leave the collar on your dog continuously (not when shampooing your dog). One collar provides FOUR weeks (1 month) of constant support for your dog.
Pfffft, yeah right! How is a collar going to make any difference?
Well, that’s exactly what I thought cause it didn’t make any noise or flash or spray water into your dogs neck or face. No, it’s just a black rubber-like collar.
It works though via the same way a mother dog would communicate with their puppies using a natural ‘comforting message’ which is released from the mammary zone. These ‘comforting messages# are called ‘Dog Appeasing Pheromones’ (for all those scientists that want the technical term) I just call it ‘mumma smells’. The funny thing about these pheromones is that they are odorless and are only perceived by dogs so don’t go sniffing around the collar for ‘calming sensations’ when you come home from a hard day at work cause it ain’t happening homo-sapien! These collars provide a strong signal of comfort and security to dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages.
I really recommend this product and not going to lie, £30 for my dog to have gain his confidence back and not fly at every sound or hide in bushes personally = WORTH IT.
Adaptil offers a wide range of products to help with certain anxiety/nervous situations or problems that your dog might have during times. Some of these include: ADAPTIL Junior- which is for puppies ADAPTIL calm home diffuser- you can also buy the Calm Refills for the diffuser ADAPTIL calm On-the-go Collar- usually costing around £30 give or take (highly recommend for dogs diagnosed with anxiety before putting them onto prescribed tablets) ADAPTIL transport ADAPTIL express
This Bilberry Woods is by far the best dog walking area so far. Don’t get me wrong, there are some cons but they will come much later on.
This walk is level for much of the way but does have stiles and rough ground in some of the areas I walked so ideally not for disable people (wheelchairs). From personal experience (and obviously lack of judgement by myself) Stout/Hiking or wellingtons would be advisable footwear. I went in normal trainers and although I completed the walk… I did have to find ways to slither round mud and some other types of obstacles.
Cattle Grids and Warning signs -which leads me to point out that there are livestock roaming around in some places so dogs to be kept on leashes in areas that provide signs or are capable of seeing them from stupidly long distances where you can’t see them i.e my sight hound: the greyhound.
Bilberry Woods, as in the name, is largely a wooded walk which skirts the medieval castle parkland and private Hawarden Estate. There are multiple ways of entering the woods but Obi and I entered it through lovely gates attached to the old castle wall that curves around the entire wooded land still. Crossing over a beautiful stream you find yourself near the ruined corn mill. If you follow the long straight track to a beautiful cherry orchard farm (I must note there are places dogs cannot go because of locked gates and cattle grids which don’t have alternative access points e.g like the cherry orchard but you are able to spot it from high views, that being said there could of been other ways around I didn’t find).
Now, where to park? This is probably the best bit: they provided a FREE parking area ‘Public Car Park, Tinkersdale’ which you can park for however long whilst walking your ‘furiendly’ buddy exploring all the wonderful areas and views the woods have to offer.
Now, unfortunately, even the best places have ‘cons’ about them. Firstly, dog bins. I think this will always be a major concern when exploring new areas- the amount of dog poo bins which we can discard of used bags is lacking around the area. Meaning if your dog goes halfway through the walk or even 5 minutes into the walk… you will be carrying the bags with you through thick and thin during the walk.
This being said, the amount of dogs Obi and I ventured across (A LOT) it was remarkable to only find one siting of someone who didn’t pick their dogs mess up. Which was nice to see that people respected these beautiful woodland walks.
Another bad thing is the cattle grid. I know they are necessary but with Obi being a greyhound he can’t fit under the provided ‘dog accessible’ holes next to the stiles meaning that we couldn’t go some places which was actually a real shame. They do have gates near some cattle grids or stiles that you could walk through but when we tried we found that some you could open and others had a combination padlock on them with a massive chain that might as well read ‘BIG DOGS STAY OUT’
BUT, with these negatives being taken into consideration I think its an okay sacrifice for the amount of walking route options available and places to explore. Not only that the surround scenery is absolutely breath-taking.
There are loads of places which you could take the kids and dogs, lay down a picnic blanket and have a peaceful lunch taking in the sun-rays and views. As long as you take the rubbish with you when you leave.
I think dog walkers would absolutely enjoy this place just like Obi and myself did.
Rating: Obi couldn’t of been happier to explore this Wag-tastic place. He was smiling with his tongue lazily plopped out of his mouth from word ‘Go’ to the very end where he was like a stubborn toddler and didn’t want to leave through the castle gate walls. Obi couldn’t give any less that ‘5/5 Wagging tails’
Greyt Greyhounds 