Dog-friendly walks in Porthleven

Five and a half miles south from the Loe Bar over Halzephron Cliff to the church in the sand at Gunwalloe, three hours with 180 metres of climbing and a rather bleak, wrecking coast in any weather. Start from the small National Trust car park behind the Loe Bar, off the Helston to Porthleven road, and return by field paths through Chyvarloe. Stiles are reported fine even for large dogs, and Loe Bar, Dollar Cove and Gunwalloe Fishing Cove all allow dogs all year; Church Cove is the exception in high summer, and the clifftop is unfenced with some sudden drops.

Six miles from Porthleven harbour along the shingle bar that dams Cornwall’s largest natural lake and back through the Penrose estate woods, three hours and easy underfoot. Start at Porthleven, where the harbour car parks are central and pay-and-display, or use the National Trust car park at Highburrow on the Penrose side. This is about as dog-friendly as a walk gets here: no stiles at all, fences between the paths and the fields so livestock is unlikely, dogs allowed on Loe Bar beach all year, and dog ice cream at the Trust cafe at Penrose Stables.