Dog-friendly walks in Hexham

Three and a half miles and 195 metres of climbing in about two hours through the largest area of ancient semi-natural woodland in Northumberland, up one bank of the River Allen and back over Morralee Tarn. Start at the National Trust car park at Ridley Hall, signposted from the A69 between Haydon Bridge and Bardon Mill; it is charged for non-members and holds about 80 cars. This is a genuinely good off-lead wood with the Allen alongside the whole way for a drink and a swim, but the gorge paths run along steep drops above the river, the suspension bridge bounces and some dogs baulk at it, and red squirrels are a reason to keep a recall close.

A flat three-mile hour and a half on both banks of the Tyne, from Tyne Green past the golf course to the old bridge and back along the water. Start from the free Tyne Green Country Park car park below the town, which is large, unmetered and the one place in Hexham you can leave a car all day for nothing. Open riverside grass makes this the best off-lead walk in the town, with easy shelving access to the Tyne for a swim, though the current runs fast after rain and the golf course section asks for dogs to be kept close.

Five and a half miles of level walking in under three hours, downstream on riverside and woodland paths by Dilston to the bridge at Corbridge. Begin at the free Tyne Green car park in Hexham and take the train or the 685 bus back; both run frequently and the rail journey is one stop. Long stretches of quiet riverbank where a dog can be loose, plenty of Tyne access for a drink and a swim, but there are two farm fields with cattle, a short length of lane without a verge, and the paths flood after heavy rain.

Five and three quarter miles and 330 metres of climbing in under three hours, the full length of the Allen gorge from Allen Banks by Plankey Mill to the medieval pele tower on its rock spur at Staward. Start at the National Trust car park at Ridley Hall off the A69; there is limited farm parking at Plankey Mill but the lane to it is narrow and awkward to turn in. Woodland and riverbank with water throughout and long off-lead stretches, but the gorge path is steep and slippery in places with drops to the river, there are stiles between the woods and the farmland, and cattle graze the fields near Plankey Mill.