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Selby · 5 checked

Dog-friendly walks in Selby

Boots on. These are the Selby walks worth the drive, with lead rules and livestock warnings marked.

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440 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 3.5 MI · LOOP
DOGS WELCOME

Bishop Wood

Selby
No reviews yet
3.5MILES
1:40TIME
10mCLIMB
98%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed

The largest wood in the old Selby district — 340 hectares of mixed forestry between Cawood and Sherburn in Elmet — with flat, wide rides and easy circular routes of four to seven kilometres. It is loved by local dog walkers and dogs run off lead on the main rides; spring carpets the floor in bluebells and wild garlic. Free roadside parking off the lane through the wood; some side paths get muddy and overgrown.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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176 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 1.3 MI · LOOP
DOGS WELCOME

Brayton Barff woodland loop

Selby · YO8 9HH
No reviews yet
1.3MILES
40mTIME
45mCLIMB
95%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed

A mile and a third round the wooded hill that is the only rise for miles in this corner of the Vale, thirty-five minutes, undulating woodland path with a couple of short pulls but nothing steep and no stiles. The car park off Brayton Barff Road between Brayton and Thorpe Willoughby is free, and Selby station is two miles away with an hourly bus passing the lane end; it is signed off the A19 south of Selby. Dogs run free here and it is a local favourite for exactly that reason, there is no livestock and no cliff or road hazard, but there is also no water at all on the hill, so carry a bottle in summer; the sandy soil drains well and the paths stay walkable in winter when the surrounding fields are under water.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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N 1 MILE 5.5 MI · LINEAR — PLAN THE RETURN
DOGS WELCOME

Selby Canal towpath

Selby · YO8 8FD
No reviews yet
5.5MILES
2:30TIME
10mCLIMB
95%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed

Five and a half miles of towpath from Selby Lock out past Brayton and Burn towards Tankard's Bridge, remarkably flat and firm the whole way and about two and a half hours one way, with the Trans Pennine Trail waymarking to follow. Start at Selby Lock, YO8 8FD, less than half a mile from both the railway station and the bus station, which makes this the easiest walk in the Vale to reach without a car, and there are entry points all along so you can cut it as short as you like. The towpath is the classic bad-weather option here because it drains and stays walkable in January, dogs can be off lead on the quieter southern stretches, and there is shade under the trees, but keep them out of the canal itself and lead up at the locks, bridge holes and around moored boats.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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176 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 1.6 MI · LOOP
SOME LIMITS

Barlow Common nature reserve

Selby · YO8 8EX
No reviews yet
1.6MILES
45mTIME
10mCLIMB
95%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed

A mile and a half round a ninety-acre patchwork of lakes, meadow and birch woodland on a reclaimed tip east of the town, forty-five minutes, entirely flat with hard-surfaced main paths, a couple of boardwalks and softer side loops that get muddy. The car park off Common Lane in Barlow is free and open dawn to dusk, and Selby station is two and a half miles away with a bus to Barlow village. Dogs can be off lead on the main circuit and there is no livestock, but the reserve is a serious wildlife site with grass snakes, ground-nesting birds and open water, so keep out of the reed fringes and away from the lake edges in spring; the surfaced spine path is one of the few places in the Selby district that stays clean through a wet January.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 9 MI · LOOP
SOME LIMITS

Selby Horseshoe

Selby · YO8 4PU
No reviews yet
9MILES
4:00TIME
55mCLIMB
85%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed Livestock — leads on

Nine miles round the town on the council's waymarked circuit, four hours, dead flat throughout on towpath, field track and riverbank with a handful of gates and no climb apart from the little rise over Brayton Barff. Start from Selby Abbey in the town centre and pick up the canal towpath west; Selby station is five minutes from the abbey with trains from York, Leeds and Hull, which makes this an unusually easy long walk to reach without a car. The towpath and the Barff woodland are safe for a dog off lead, but the farmland link between them carries sheep and occasional cattle and there is a stretch beside the A19 where a lead is not optional; the canal gives a dog a drink throughout and the towpath stays walkable all winter, while the field sections turn to heavy clay.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›

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