Dog-friendly Barnstaple

An easy 2.9 miles one way along the Taw estuary on a level tarmac path, an hour at an amble past saltmarsh and small rocky beaches to the Tarka Inn at Ashford, with almost no climbing at all. Start at Barnstaple station, which has the branch line from Exeter and a pay-and-display car park, and come back on the frequent Braunton bus from Ashford rather than retracing your steps. This is the sensible wet-weather and elderly-dog walk of North Devon, entirely traffic free and puddle flat, but note that the estuary mudflats are high tide roosts for overwintering birds and the council order bans dogs from land used as a roost between 1 October and 31 March, so keep to the trail and out of the saltmarsh in winter.

A big flat day of 11.6 miles, five hours or so, out along the old Bideford railway line to Fremington Quay and Yelland and down to the sands at Instow, then back the same way, with barely 40 metres of climbing on tarmac trail throughout. Start at Barnstaple station, cross the Long Bridge and pick up the Tarka Trail on the south bank; the 21 and 21A buses shadow the route so you can shorten it to a one-way walk at Fremington or Instow whenever the dog has had enough. It is a superb distance walk for a fit dog with no stiles and no livestock, water at the Fremington Quay café and Instow beach at the far end, but there is nowhere shaded on a hot day and the winter high tide roosts along the estuary are closed to dogs from 1 October to 31 March.