Dog-friendly Chesterfield & the East

Riverside Marston's pub where the Wye meets the Derwent, with a caravan park behind and Peak Rail's Rowsley South station up the lane. Dogs are welcome in the bar and beer garden, and the pub keeps treats behind the bar for passing dog walkers. Named for the fishing fly, and the fishing is still the reason many people are here.

Pub and kitchen in the middle of Chesterfield, within sight of the crooked spire. Dogs are welcome, with the dog bar set up outside on the terrace, so the terrace is the natural spot in decent weather. Useful town-centre stop before the Chesterfield Canal towpath walk out to Tapton.

Estate inn in the Chatsworth village of Beeley, a mile from the park gates. Dogs are welcome at outdoor tables and in parts of the pub indoors, two per table, and can stay overnight in the rooms above at £20 per dog per night, booked in advance. A four-poster dog bed can be hired if the mood takes you.

Sports pub on Bolsover's Castle Street, ten minutes from the castle gate, with a beer garden, cask ales and the football on. Dog friendly is listed among its facilities, which makes it the practical stop in town after a walk round the castle grounds. Straightforward rather than smart, and none the worse for it.

Village pub on Nether End green, a few strides from the Chatsworth park gate and the bridge over Bar Brook. Dogs are welcome, and the pub asks that if you are coming for an evening meal you book a table in the bar dining area rather than the restaurant. A sensible first or last stop on the Chatsworth park circuit.

Small modern bar in the middle of Wirksworth, well kept beer and no fruit machines. Dog friendly by its own description, and a short walk from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway station and the path up to Black Rocks. A good end point for a walk down the High Peak Trail from Middleton Top.

Cafe bar on Matlock's Dale Road, locally sourced food by day and Titanic beers by evening. The house line is a very warm welcome for all, particularly dogs who bring their owners, which is about as clear as it gets. Five minutes from Hall Leys Park and the Derwent path.

Two and three quarter miles and about an hour and three quarters on waymarked woodland circuits with a short scramble up onto the gritstone outcrop for a view over the whole Derwent valley. Start from the Black Rocks car park above Cromford, a county council site where charges apply at £3.50 for three hours or £7 all day, with toilets and picnic tables. The forest tracks are wide, shaded and free of livestock so a dog can be off the lead under close control, but the top of the outcrop is a genuine unfenced cliff used by climbers and no place for a loose dog, and there is no water on the route.

Eleven kilometres, just under seven miles, and two and a half to three hours between two great ruined houses, up and down through fields with steep sections and stiles to climb. Start at Bolsover Castle, where the English Heritage car park is the only sensible parking and the cafe and toilets are the only facilities on the route. English Heritage warns that livestock may be grazing along the way, so a lead is needed throughout; dogs on leads are welcome in the castle grounds but not in the Little Castle, Riding Range or Cavalier displays, and the route is not suitable for pushchairs or a dog that cannot manage stiles.

Eight miles right round the reservoir, three and a half to four hours, mostly on surfaced tracks with a mile or so of field path on the far shore and no climb worth the name. Start from the Severn Trent visitor centre between Wirksworth and Kniveton, where the car park is large, paid, and open with the centre from 10am. Severn Trent requires dogs to be on a lead at all times here because of the wildlife, the shoreline is fenced along the sailing and wildlife sections though there are shallow inlets on the Millfields side, and the cafe has outdoor tables where dogs are welcome.

Five miles and about two and three quarter hours round Capability Brown's parkland, over the Derwent bridges, up to the Queen Mary's Bower side and back along the river through open pasture. Start from the main Chatsworth car park, which charges by the day and is free to Chatsworth members, or park free on the Baslow to Beeley road and walk in through the park gates. Dogs must be on a lead everywhere in the park and garden because of the deer and grazing sheep, they are not allowed in the farmyard or playground although tie-up posts are provided, and there are drinking stations by the toilets and in the Stables courtyard plus a dog-friendly area inside the cafe.

Five and a half miles there and back along a level, multi-user towpath from Tapton Lock towards Staveley, about two and a half hours with plenty of excuses to stop at locks. Start from the Tapton Lock car park off the A619 roundabout on the edge of Chesterfield, free and rarely full, with the visitor centre and toilets on site. The towpath is wide enough for a dog under close control rather than a lead, the canal is deep with steep banks so a dog that swims needs watching near the locks, and there are moorhens and swans nesting along the margins from spring onwards.

Ten and a half miles there and back along a dead-level towpath through the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, four to four and a half hours, and one of the few long days in Derbyshire with no climbing in it at all. Start from Cromford Wharf, a county council car park where charges apply at £3.50 for three hours or £7 all day, 8am to 8pm from April to October and 9am to 5pm in winter. The towpath is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with water voles and nesting waterfowl so keep a dog out of the reed margins, close control is enough on the path itself, and Leawood Pumphouse and High Peak Junction both break the walk up with something to look at.

Lodge park in 47 acres of woodland on Darley Moor above Matlock, with hot tubs and its own woodland trails. Many of the lodges welcome dogs, so filter for those when booking rather than assuming. The forest paths mean you can walk the dog before breakfast without getting in the car.

Log cabins on a working farm at Longcliffe, with the High Peak Trail running along the boundary. Three of the cabins are dog friendly, one with an enclosed decking area, and the farm is used to guests arriving with dogs and children in equal number. Genuinely accessible too, with wheelchair-adapted cabins.

Georgian spa hotel above Matlock Bath, built round a thermal pool and lately restored. Dog-friendly stays are offered but must be booked by phone rather than online, and dogs are to be kept on leads in the gardens. The hotel publishes a dog policy worth reading before you arrive.

Georgian house turned small hotel in Arkwright's village, a short walk from the mills and the canal. Dogs stay in The Oaks and are welcome in every public area except the restaurant; say you are dining with a dog when you reserve and you will be put in the bar. Ideal for the High Peak Trail and the Cromford Canal towpath.

The Chatsworth estate's hotel at Baslow, looking out over the park it borders. Dogs stay for £20 per dog per night, two per room maximum and pre-booked, arriving to treats, a bowl and a towel; a four-poster dog bed can be added for £35 a night. There is space to dine with a dog, and a room-service dog menu for the nights you would rather not.

Cavendish fantasy castle on a ridge above the Vale of Scarsdale, with a wall walk and a long view west over the valley. English Heritage allow dogs on leads in the grounds only: the Little Castle, the Riding Range and the horsemanship displays are closed to them. Worth timing a visit round the terrace rather than the interiors if the dog is with you.

Severn Trent reservoir on the southern edge of the Peak, with a visitor centre, cycle hire and a circuit of the water through woodland and bird hides. Dogs are welcome but must be kept under control and on a lead at all times, because of the wildfowl the reservoir was built to attract. Parking is paid on exit or within 24 hours through the Trust app.

A thousand acres of Capability Brown parkland along the Derwent, free to walk, plus the 105-acre garden with its cascade and rock garden. Dogs are welcome everywhere in the garden and park but must be on a lead at all times because of the sheep and deer, and there are drinking stations by the toilets and in the Stables courtyard. The house, farmyard and playground are out of bounds; the Carriage House Café has a dog-friendly seating area, and there are tethering posts by the Game Larder.

Limestone gorge honeycombed with caves that hold Britain's only known Ice Age rock art, with a level path round the lake below. Dogs on leads are welcome outside, including on the gorge walk, but not in the museum or the cave tours; the cafe has covered outdoor seating. A good short walk with real substance to it.

Arkwright's 1771 mill, the birthplace of the factory system and the anchor of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Well-behaved dogs are welcome across the site and in both cafes, though individual shops set their own policy, and the riverside meadow beyond the mill walls is the designated spending area. Guided mill tours, woodland paths and the canal towpath all start here.

Bess of Hardwick's glass-walled Elizabethan showpiece, with parkland, ponds and Lady Spencer's Wood to walk. Dogs on leads are welcome across the parkland, the stableyard and the formal gardens, and the Great Barn restaurant has an indoor dog-friendly seating area. Leads must be short at all times because of the wildlife and grazing stock; water bowls and dog bins are provided.