Dog-friendly The Broads

A country pub in the small village above the North Walsham and Dilham Canal, the only canal in Norfolk. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in designated areas, which means the bar and the large patio and outdoor seating, but not the whole pub. The towpath walk from Honing Lock is flat and sheltered in bad weather.

A public house and restaurant on the Norwich road side of Acle, known locally for its pies. Four-legged friends are welcome throughout, which is unusual enough among Broadland dining pubs to be worth the detour. Acle Bridge and the Bure moorings are a mile away.

A village pub on Ludham's high street, ten minutes' walk from Womack Staithe and the moorings. Dogs are welcome in the bar and the garden but not in the main restaurant, so plan on a bar table if the dog is with you. A useful stop on the flat lane walk between Ludham and How Hill.

The big riverside pub on the Hoveton bank at Wroxham bridge, with its own moorings and a terrace over the Bure. Its facilities list names it as dog friendly, and it is the easiest place in Wroxham to eat with a dog after a day-boat trip. Rooms are available, though the pub does not say whether dogs may use them.

Five and a half miles and around two and three quarter hours, flat throughout, along the Bure from Acle Bridge to the windpump at Upton Dyke and back through Upton village and the fen edge on lane and field path. Start at the free riverside parking at Acle Bridge on the A1064 beside the inn and the moorings, which is generous but fills with anglers at weekends. Dogs are welcome under effective control on the rights of way, but Norfolk Wildlife Trust admits assistance dogs only on Upton Fen itself and requires leads on all its other paths, the dykes are deep and steep-sided, and cattle graze the marsh compartments from spring to autumn.

Seven and a half miles and three and a half hours on the Weavers' Way, which runs 61 miles from Cromer to Great Yarmouth and gives its emptiest miles here, out along the Bure to Stokesby and back across the Halvergate marshes, the largest expanse of grazing marsh in Britain. Start at the free riverside car park at Acle Bridge; there is no water, shade or shelter once you are out on the marsh, so carry your own for both of you. This is cattle country the whole way with drainage dykes instead of fences, so a lead is needed for most of the crossing, and the drainage mills give the only landmarks in a landscape with no hedges at all.

Four and a half miles there and back, a flat and undemanding two and a quarter hours on the compacted trackbed that runs beside the fifteen-inch Bure Valley Railway for its nine miles between Wroxham and Aylsham. Start at the railway station car park at Hoveton and Wroxham beside the bridge, which is the trail head and has the largest parking in the village; the whole path can be walked one way with a train back if you time it with the timetable. It is traffic-free the entire distance with no stiles and good width for a nervous dog, the Bure is reachable at Belaugh and Coltishall for a drink, and steam trains pass close enough that a noise-shy dog wants a lead.

Four and a quarter miles there and back, two hours on grass river wall and boardwalk, following the Bure downstream from Horning to the dyke and hide at Cockshoot Broad, the first Broads lake to be dammed and cleared of nutrient-rich mud. It starts from the Lower Street staithe in Horning, free but tight, and the going is level throughout with no stiles and only two gates. This is water on both sides for most of the way with unfenced banks, so a lead where the path narrows makes sense, and the Broads Authority reminds walkers never to enter the water after a dog and to check policies because many nature reserves and permissive paths do not allow them at all.

Five miles and about two and a half hours, riverbank and estate track, from the thatched staithe at Horning down the Bure to the ferry and inland through the Woodbastwick estate, the tidiest thatched village in Norfolk. Start on Lower Street at Horning where the free village staithe parking sits behind the shops, and expect it to be full from mid-morning in summer; the alternative is the pay-and-display at the top of the village. Dogs are allowed on the footpaths and byways under effective control, but the Broads Authority asks for leads all year near farm animals and a short lead on open access land between 1 March and 31 July for ground-nesting birds; the Bure has steep unfenced banks and a real current.

Four and a half miles in a little over two hours, level all the way, along the river wall of the Ant from Ludham Bridge to How Hill with its four drainage mills, returning on the lane past Ludham church. Park in the free car park beside the bridge on the A1062 at Ludham Bridge, next to the boatyard and the cafe, which is the usual walkers' start and gets busy at lunchtime in summer. Dogs are welcome under effective control on the footpaths, but the How Hill gardens and nature trail set their own rules and should be checked at the gate, the river wall is unfenced with a fast tidal flow, and cattle graze the marsh compartments most of the year.

A ninety-year-old boatyard on the Thurne at Potter Heigham hiring cruisers, day boats and picnic boats, plus riverside cottages and apartments. Dog-friendly boats are a stated part of the fleet and there is a pet-friendly boating holiday option. The medieval bridge just downstream is the reason so many boats stop short here.

The long-established Wroxham yard behind Broads Tours, hiring cruisers and day boats and letting waterside cottages. It runs a dog-friendly holiday programme for both boats and cottages, and points out that dogs are not usually allowed on the nature reserves you will pass. A hundred and twenty-five miles of lock-free water starts at the bridge.

The big Stalham Staithe boatyard, with one of the largest hire fleets on the Broads, day boats and a marina cafe. Several boats in the fleet are listed as pet friendly and the yard promotes dog-friendly holidays with walks and waterside pubs along the northern rivers. Hickling and Barton Broads are within a morning's cruise.

A hundred and thirty acres of wet woodland, candelabra primulas and boardwalk around a private inner broad, with a boat trip out onto the water. Dogs are very welcome on short leads at all times, which suits the narrow boardwalks. Level, shaded and walkable in almost any weather.

A volunteer-run museum on Stalham Staithe telling the story of the waterways through boats, eel gear and reed-cutting tools, with steam launch trips from the quay. Well-behaved dogs on a lead are welcome at no extra charge, with water bowls, shaded seating and parking points on the picnic tables. Dogs can go aboard the boats at the helm's discretion, and dog life jackets are available.

The largest of the Broads, a shallow expanse of open water and reedbed famous for swallowtail butterflies and marsh harriers. The reserve itself is closed to dogs, but the public right of way across it is open, which gives a decent walk without going through the visitor centre. Read the signs carefully here: the boundaries matter.

The closest of the Broads to Norwich, a sheltered stretch of water with moorings, canoe hire and a walk down through the woods from the car park. Dogs are welcome for walks, day visits and camping. Calm water and a short, flat approach make it an easy first Broad with a dog.