Great dog walks and beaches around Weymouth and Dorset

Dog Walks near Weymouth

There are lots of places to walk your dog in the local area. If you want to board your dog with us while you are on holiday you are welcome to collect you loved one for a walk or to take them to the beach (see restrictions, below).

The Dorset Coast Path forms part of the 630 mile South West Coast Path National Trail. The coast path follows cliff top, lagoon, beach and urban environments (dogs on leads near cliffs, sheep and cattle).

The Dorchester to Weymouth walk has wide and sweeping coastal views combined with quiet valleys, taking you near to the home of Thomas Hardy and the resting place of the Dorset poet William Barnes.

The Purbeck Way offers splendid views of the Purbeck Coast, taking you along the banks of the River Frome passed Corfe Castle and Chapman's Pool or Ballard Down, finishing on the Jurassic Coast (dogs on leads near cliffs, sheep and cattle).

RSPB Lodmoor provides pathways through the large reedbed, open water, saltmarsh, wet grassland and bushes that attract many different birds (dogs on leads).

The Dorset Jubilee Trail is a 90 mile walk across Dorset from Forde Abbey on the Somerset border to Bokerley Dyke on the Hampshire border (dogs on leads near sheep and cattle).

The Wessex Ridgeway Trail is a magnificent ridge-top route crossing Dorset's rural heartland. The trail offers vistas across the county and breath-taking views far beyond (dogs on leads near sheep and cattle).

The Lawrence of Arabia Trail starts and finishes at Bovington's Tank Museum taking in Lawrence's home at Clouds Hill and his last resting place in the cemetery at Moreton.

All these walks and many more can be downloaded from the Visit Dorset website. www.visit-dorset.com

Dogs on beaches

Weymouth
Dogs permitted all year round within a restricted area. No dogs on main beach between 1st May and 30th September - except in permitted area near the Pavilion and Preston end of the beach.

Abbotsbury - Chesil Bank & Fleet Lagoon Nature Reserve
Dogs welcome at all times.

Durdle Door
Dogs welcome at all times.

Lulworth Cove
Dogs welcome at all times.

Lyme Regis
No dogs on the area of beach from Cobb Gate Car Park west to the lifeboat slipway between 1st April and 31st October. N.B. Dogs are allowed on East Cliff Beach and Monmouth Beach all year round.

Studland
Dogs are not allowed on Middle and Knoll beaches (from Red-end point to training bank) between early July and early September. Dogs are allowed on Shell Bay and South Beach all year provided they are on a lead and that owners clean up after them.

West Bay
No dogs between 1st May and 1st October within the East Pier to East Cliffs and West Pier to West Cliffs areas.