Charmouth Beach
The fossil beach at the mouth of the Char, split in two by the river: East Beach towards Golden Cap, West Beach towards Lyme. Dorset Council places no restrictions at all on East Beach, while West Beach is open to dogs from 1 October to 30 April only. Get the side right and you can walk a dog here in August.
Chesil Beach at Abbotsbury
The great shingle bar running east from Abbotsbury with the Fleet lagoon behind it, eighteen miles of pebbles graded by the sea. Dorset Council allows dogs all year from Abbotsbury to the Tank Teeth boundary; beyond that, towards Portland, dogs are allowed on leads on the seaward flank from 1 September to 30 April and there is no public access at all outside those dates. The Fleet shoreline itself is closed, so keep to the coast path.
Hive Beach
Steep golden shingle at the western end of Chesil, with the most dramatic cliffs on the west Dorset coast behind it. Dorset Council records no formal restriction here, but the National Trust, which owns it, asks that dogs are not exercised on the beach between 1 May and 30 September. Cogden Beach a mile east is open all year.
Lyme Regis Front Beach
The sandy town beach below Marine Parade, the one families aim for and the one dogs are shut out of in season. Dorset Council's order allows dogs here from 1 October to 30 April only. Monmouth Beach to the west and Church Cliff Beach to the east are open all year, and both are a two-minute walk away.
Seatown Beach
Shingle beach at the end of the Chideock lane, with Golden Cap rising to the east and the coast path climbing straight off the beach. Dorset Council allows dogs here from 1 October to 30 April only, one of the six named summer exclusions in the county order. In season, walk the cap instead.
West Bay Beach
Shingle either side of the harbour mouth under the layered East Cliff, one of the most photographed stretches on this coast. Dorset Council restricts the two beaches beside the harbour, East and West, to dogs from 1 October to 30 April; the third beach, cut off from West Beach by a large rock groyne, is not restricted at all. Dogs may also use the port on a lead in summer.
Weymouth Beach
Three miles of graded golden sand curving round Weymouth Bay, the classic English seaside beach with donkeys and Punch and Judy. Dorset Council keeps two stretches open all year: the dog exercise area by the Pavilion, and everything from Greenhill Groyne north to Overcombe. The main sandy beach between Greenhill Groyne and the dog exercise area takes dogs from 1 October to 30 April only.
