Dog-friendly The North Cornwall Coast

Seventeenth-century pilchard-trade inn in the cove next along from Port Isaac, and about as sheltered as this coast gets. Your dog is allowed with you in all areas of the Port Gaverne except the main restaurant, and dog-friendly bedrooms must be booked as such in advance. The cove beach below has no seasonal ban.

Fifteenth-century stone inn beside the church in a wooded hollow inland from Port Isaac, with a proper flagged bar and a big lawned garden. Dogs are very welcome in all areas of the pub, and it is the obvious quiet alternative when the coast is full. Ales straight from the cask behind the bar.

Family-run pub, restaurant and rooms looking straight down onto Widemouth Bay, under new ownership since 2024. The inn describes a dog-friendly bar where furry friends feel at home; it does not extend that in writing to the restaurant or the bedrooms. There are rooms above with balcony views, so ask about dogs when you book rather than assuming.

Rick Stein's village local a couple of miles inland from Padstow, all slate floors and St Austell ales, and named best dog-friendly pub in the UK by Canine Cottages. Dogs are welcome in the pub itself and in the beer garden, on a lead throughout. Handy after the Trevose Head loop.

The old smugglers' pub above Port Isaac harbour, with a terrace hanging over the Platt. Families and dogs are always welcome, which in a village this crowded in summer is worth knowing before you walk down the hill. Steep cobbled lanes either side, so a short lead is sensible.

Harbourside St Austell Brewery inn a few steps from the Camel estuary and the start of the Camel Trail. Dogs are allowed with you in all areas of the pub except the main restaurant, and a handful of bedrooms are set aside for them. Leads in the public areas, and let the team know at booking so you are seated somewhere sensible.

Beach-shack bar and kitchen at the top of the Polzeath slipway, geared to wet wetsuits and sandy feet. Dogs are allowed in the bar at all times, which matters here because the beach itself shuts to them between 10am and 6pm from 15 May to 30 September. Good place to wait out the middle of a summer day.

Big glass-fronted restaurant and bar facing the sand at Polzeath, open daily through the season for pizza, seafood and coffee. The kitchen states plainly that it is dog friendly and family friendly; ring ahead in high summer and they will place you where a wet dog will not be in the way.

A four-mile figure of eight on entirely surfaced paths, comfortably done in an hour and three quarters, that puts the canal towpath and the Storm Tower cliff into the same short walk. It starts at the Bude Canal wharf where the sea lock is, with the big Crescent and Wharf car parks a minute away and buses stopping in the town centre. There are no stiles and no livestock, water birds on the canal instead, and Summerleaze beach takes dogs all year while Crooklets does not in season; the towpath is level and shaded enough for an old dog, though the Compass Point section is unfenced clifftop.

Six miles north along the cliffs to the National Trust beach at Sandymouth and back by the lanes, close to three hours with 200 metres of up and down in the valleys that cut the coast. It begins at Summerleaze in Bude and can be shortened at Northcott Mouth, where the wreck of the Belem shows at low tide; Sandymouth has its own Trust car park at the far end. There are no stiles on the route at all, three of the four beaches take dogs all year, and the freshwater streams at Northcott and Sandymouth are the reliable drink; the return lanes are quiet but tarmac, so expect some lead work.

Five and a half level miles of dismantled railway along the Camel estuary, about two hours each way on a hard all-weather surface that stays walkable in the wettest week of the year. It starts beside the old station at the head of Padstow harbour; the harbourside pay-and-display car parks are the nearest and fill by mid-morning from Whitsun onwards, and Wadebridge has its own car park at the far end if you prefer to walk it inland to sea. There are no stiles, no livestock and no cliff edge, but this is a shared cycleway carrying fast bikes in both directions, so a short lead is the sensible default; the estuary itself is fenced off from the trail for most of the way.

Five and a half miles of clifftop south from Bude to Widemouth Bay and back inland, around two and a half hours with 130 metres of climbing on grass and beaten earth rather than steps. Start from the Summerleaze car park above the sea pool, which is the largest in Bude and the closest to the coast path; the Bude to Widemouth bus lets you make it one way if the wind turns. No stiles at all on the route, which makes it a good long walk for a big dog, but the cliff edge is unfenced almost the whole way and Widemouth is one of the earliest-restricted beaches in the county.

Four and a half miles over the highest cliff in Cornwall, about two and three quarter hours, with 330 metres of climbing and a long grassy traverse above The Strangles that feels a great deal more remote than its length suggests. It starts from the small car park behind the beach at Crackington Haven, which is the only realistic parking and is full by mid-morning in August; the pub and cafe are at the start. Most dogs manage or bypass the stiles, but the Cambeak ridge is narrow with a drop on both sides and the coast path along High Cliff runs unfenced above a 200-metre slope, so this is a lead walk for anything that chases gulls.

A three-mile loop out of Padstow along the estuary shore to two sandy coves and back over the fields, an easy hour and a half with one short pull up from the beach. It leaves from the harbour and the war memorial, so any of the Padstow car parks work; the walk is also the obvious use of a bad-weather day when the coast beyond Stepper Point is unwalkable. Only one stile, beside a gate, and no livestock as a rule; dogs may use Harbour Cove all year and there is a stream running onto the sand for a drink, but St George’s Cove is inside the council summer restriction and the coast path above it is unfenced.

Contemporary hotel and spa above Daymer Bay with a dedicated dog-friendly stay category alongside its rooms, suites and self-catering. Daymer Bay is a ten-minute walk down and carries no seasonal dog ban, so this is one of the few north-coast bases that works in August. Bring leads for the clifftop stretches of coast path and the livestock fields behind.

Georgian coaching inn beside the Bude Canal with walled gardens running down to the water. Dogs stay in dog-friendly rooms and are welcome in the dog-friendly section of the Coachman's Bar, but the Breakwater Brasserie is a dog-free dining area. Summerleaze beach and the sea pool are a five-minute walk.