Dog-friendly walks in Northallerton

Green corridor tucked directly behind Northallerton High Street, where the Applegarth's grass and surfaced paths follow Willow Beck, one of several becks that thread through the town towards the River Wiske. A short, level town walk of a mile or so, ideal for an older dog or a quick leg-stretch between shops. No stock to worry about, though the beck banks can be muddy after rain.

Four miles of road and track walking with three grass fields to cross, about an hour and three quarters; because the fields are grass rather than plough it stays firm, which makes it one of the best wet-weather routes near Northallerton. Start from the Fox and Hounds car park at Bullamoor, where walkers are welcome to park if they call in for a coffee afterwards, or walk out from the town in twenty minutes. Expect a single-strand electric fence to step over near Stank Hall, cattle in the fields, and a stretch of lane with fast blind bends where a lead is essential.

Five miles from the edge of Northallerton into the small pastoral valley of Dibdale and up to the hilltop hamlet of Bullamoor, about two and a half hours with three stiles, ten gates and the only real inclines within reach of the town. Start at the Crosby Road car park; the railway station is a ten-minute walk and the Fox and Hounds at Bullamoor sits roughly halfway round. Dibdale Beck and the footbridge in Droppingwell Wood give water and shade and the wood is a decent off-lead stretch, but the fields either side are grazed and the lane into Bullamoor carries farm traffic.