Dog-friendly Derby & the South

Dig Street local in Ashbourne with a beer garden, darts and a pool table, and pets allowed listed among its amenities. It is the least fussy door in town at the end of a day on the Tissington Trail, which starts a few hundred yards away at Mapleton Lane. Open from noon every day.

Corner alehouse by the station where Derby CAMRA was founded in 1974, with six or more cask beers and railway memorabilia over every wall. Castle Rock, who own it, list it as dog friendly, and it is a short walk from the Derwent riverside path. Four letting rooms upstairs, though the bedroom dog policy is not published.

Backstreet Melbourne local with a sunny beer garden, cask ales, a fire and a dartboard. Marston's list it as dog friendly, and it sits within a short walk of Melbourne Pool and the paths round the hall grounds. Board games and no music, which tells you the sort of pub it is.

Snug-and-settle city pub off Exeter Place, better known for its kitchen than its beer garden. The pub's own front page says it is a dog friendly pub, which in the middle of Derby narrows the field considerably. Five minutes from the cathedral and the river.

City-centre pub on Full Street beside the old silk mill, under the same ownership as the Exeter Arms and equally clear about dogs being welcome. A practical stop at the southern end of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, which the mill next door begins. Food is served all day.

Country pub on Ticknall's main street, a mile from the Calke Abbey gates and stocked with maps for walks from the door. There is a dedicated dog-friendly area seating up to ten, and one ground-floor bedroom with a private entrance near the car park takes a well-behaved dog. That combination - a pub that will feed you and put the dog up - is rare in South Derbyshire.

Restaurant and bar on Ashbourne's market place, smarter than a pub but newly and specifically dog friendly. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the bar and on the beer terrace between noon and 5pm daily, with water bowls and treats provided; outside those hours the dining room is not open to them. Book a table if you want the terrace on a Sunday.

Two and a half miles there and back, an hour at most, out through the lit railway tunnel under the town and back by the Henmore Brook and Church Banks. Start from the Mapleton Lane car park at the Tissington Trail head, pay-and-display and the closest parking to the tunnel mouth. Level and surfaced almost throughout, so a good short leg-stretch for a dog that cannot manage hills, with close control rather than a lead needed on the trail, a shallow paddle in the Henmore, and a short pavement section on Church Street where a lead goes back on.

Four and a quarter miles and a little over two hours through the deer park, the ancient oaks and the woodland rides of a National Trust estate that has been left deliberately unmanicured. Start from the main Calke car park a mile inside the gates from Ticknall, free to members and paid otherwise, and note the estate gates close in the early evening. Dogs are free to roam the parkland under close control, which makes Calke unusual among big houses, and are welcome on short leads in the stableyards, gardens, restaurant and shop; the park holds red and fallow deer and grazing sheep, so recall needs to be genuine or the lead goes on.

Three and a half flat miles and an hour and three quarters round the lake, the avenues and the old kitchen garden walls, on made paths that stay walkable in winter. Start from the county council car park off Borrowash Road, five miles south-east of Derby, where charges apply at £3.50 for three hours and £7 all day, 8am to 8pm from April to October. This is one of the most dog-used parks in the county with tie-up points by the information centre and around the courtyards, dogs need only close control on the main park but must be on a lead in the central courtyards, and dogs are not allowed into the local nature reserve at all.

Four and a half miles and a little over two hours round the reservoir on woodland trails, with a short spur to the sandstone outcrop and bog of Carver's Rocks at the southern end. Start from the Severn Trent car park off the Ticknall road above Milton, two miles from Repton, which is paid and closes at dusk. Severn Trent requires dogs to be on a lead at all times here because of the wildlife, the shoreline is largely fenced with no swimming, and the Carver's Rocks nature reserve section has a boardwalk over wet ground that suits paws better than the surrounding bog.

Three and a half easy miles and about an hour and three quarters round Robert Adam's parkland, over the Cutler Brook bridges, past the boathouse and back up the ha-ha to the north front. Start from the National Trust car park at Kedleston, four miles north-west of the city centre and signed off the A38, free to members and paid otherwise. Dogs must be on a lead at all times in all the outdoor areas because sheep graze the park, dogs on short leads are welcome in the restaurant, shop and bookshop, and the brook and lakes give shallow drinking though the water is fenced on the dam side.

Four and a half miles there and back on the flat, two hours, along the Trent and Mersey towpath with the option of crossing the Trent bridge into Repton for the abbey church and the village. Start from the county council picnic site at Willington, a mile and a half from Repton, which is free and gives direct access to the towpath. Level, surfaced and traffic-free the whole way, so close control is enough rather than a lead, the canal is deep with steep sides so a dog that swims needs watching between locks, and there are pubs at both the Willington and Repton ends with outside tables.

The un-restored house in a deer park of ancient oaks, ponds and woodland walks, and one of the National Trust's best rated places for a day with a dog. Dogs may be off lead and under close control in the open parkland when no stock is grazing, but must be on a short lead in the gardens and stableyards, and on a lead wherever livestock are - typically the meadows, the historic drive and Lime Avenue. Dog bins and water are provided, and there is a dog walking guide at the visitor centre.