Dog-friendly walks in Whitehaven

The town's own short circuit: out along the West Pier to the little lighthouse at the harbour mouth, back round the Old Quay and the Sugar Tongue, then a pull up Wellington Terrace to the Candlestick, the tapered chimney of the old Wellington Pit that stands over the town. Underfoot it is pier stone, quayside setts and pavement, so it works in any weather and at any state of the tide, and the harbour rails mean a dog can be off the road the whole way along the water. Cumberland Council's PSPO puts no restriction on the harbour, the piers or the streets; the restrictions nearby are on the grass, not the quay. Finish down Duke Street and Lowther Street back to the Strand.

South out of the town on the England Coast Path, climbing from the Candlestick along the edge of Kells to the winding house at Haig Pit and then on above Saltom Bay, where the ruins of Saltom Pit sit on a shelf below the cliff. The path is wide grass and cinder track with the drop fenced most of the way, but the last section down to the Saltom shelf is steep and loose and is better done on a lead. Wind off the Irish Sea is the defining feature; there is no shelter and no water on the route, so carry some. Turn round at Saltom and come back the same way, or carry on to Sandwith.

The first leg of the Coast to Coast cycle route, on the trackbed of the old Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. From Preston Street it climbs steadily but almost imperceptibly out of the Pow Beck valley past Mirehouse and Woodhouse, then runs through cuttings and open farmland to the village green at Moor Row. The surface is sealed tarmac the whole way, so it stays clean in winter and suits an older dog, but it is shared with cyclists doing the C2C and they come through fast in summer. Walk it as a linear and take the bus back from Moor Row, or turn at any point.

North from Bransty on the strip of shore and old railway formation squeezed between the Cumbrian Coast line and the sea, ending at the sea wall and the little beach at Parton. It is flat, wide and largely traffic-free, which makes it the easiest proper dog walk out of Whitehaven, and the shingle beaches along the way give a dog somewhere to get wet. The railway runs immediately inland of the path for most of the distance and is fenced but close, so this is not a route for a dog that will not recall. Come back the same way or take the train one stop from Parton.

The full day out from Whitehaven: up past the Candlestick and Haig, along the cliff above Saltom and Barrowmouth, past the old Birkhams sandstone quarry and round the two headlands of St Bees Head with the lighthouse at North Head, then down the long descent to the beach and village at St Bees. It is the biggest cliff walk on the Cumbrian coast and the drops are unfenced in places, so a lead near the edge is sensible. The fields on the landward side are grazed by sheep and cattle for most of the distance. Trains run back to Whitehaven from St Bees roughly every two hours.