Dog-friendly walks in York

A pocket-sized local nature reserve on the south-west edge of the city, giving a mile of woodland and meadow paths in twenty-five easy minutes; a remnant of genuinely ancient woodland with bluebells in May and shade in a heatwave. Park on Acomb Wood Drive or Foxwood Lane and walk straight in, or take the number 4 bus to Foxwood; there are no gates or stiles a big dog cannot manage. Dogs are off lead throughout with no livestock, but the reserve is small, popular and close to housing, so recall matters; the woodland paths get properly claggy after rain and this is not the one to pick in a wet January.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's celebrated fenland reserve on York's south-west edge — Sir David Attenborough called it a cathedral of nature conservation — explored via a 750-metre boardwalk circuit. Dogs are allowed but must stay on a lead and keep to the boardwalk to protect the fragile peatland and its wildlife. Free entry at all times, with a small gravel car park off the A1036 near Askham Bar.

A two-mile perimeter circuit of one of York's four medieval strays, a big open triangle of grazing land on the northern edge of the city, level throughout and done in under an hour. Park on Wigginton Road or come out on the number 5 or 6 bus from the centre; the stray also links straight through to Haxby Road and the Foss on foot. Dogs get a proper off-lead gallop across the open grass, but cattle are turned out here through the summer and cows with calves will take an interest in a loose dog, so lead up and skirt them; the tracks round the edge drain reasonably and stay usable in winter, though the middle turns to a quagmire.

A flat 3.5-mile circuit of riverside floodplain meadows just downstream of Clifton Bridge, and one of York's favourite off-lead romps along the Ouse. Cattle graze parts of the Ings in summer, so read the field before unclipping and lead up around stock — there are alternative paths to route around a herd. These are working flood washlands: after heavy rain the whole area can be underwater, so check conditions first.

A mile and a half of ridge-and-furrow meadow, scrub and old airfield concrete tucked behind Clifton, level and quiet and easily done in half an hour, which makes it a sensible choice for an arthritic dog or a hot afternoon. Walk in from Rawcliffe Lane or Water Lane; there is no dedicated car park but plenty of residential parking, and the number 20 bus stops on Water Lane. Dogs can be off lead on the meadow paths with no livestock to worry about, though the reserve is managed for wildflowers and ground-nesting birds so keep to the mown paths in spring and early summer; the wartime hardstanding gives you firm footing when everything else in York is mud.

The opening leg of the River Foss Society's 28-mile Foss Walk, following the little river upstream from Castle Mills near the Ouse confluence through Huntington and New Earswick to Strensall — around six miles of quiet waterside field paths. Regular bridges let you shorten the walk to any length, and the towpath-style stretches are calm going for dogs; lead up through the villages and around anglers. Return to York by bus from Strensall or Haxby, or picnic and retrace.

A flat two-and-a-half mile circuit of the Ouse floodplain meadows on the east bank below the Millennium Bridge, out along the water and back by the field edge to Fordlands Road, and an easy hour and a quarter at dog pace with no stiles and nothing you could call a climb. Start from Fordlands Road or Broadway in Fulford and drop down to the river; the number 6 bus runs along Fulford Road every few minutes from the city centre. Cattle graze the ings through the summer and a cow with a calf is the single most dangerous thing a dog walker meets in this patch, so read the field before you unclip and give any herd a wide berth; the Ouse gives a strong swimmer a dip, but these are working washlands and the meadows can sit under water for weeks after winter rain.

Two flat miles of ancient common grassland between Acomb and the racecourse, an easy forty-five minutes on mown grass with a surfaced spine path that stays perfectly walkable in January when the ings are drowned. Walk in from Little Hob Moor off Tadcaster Road or from Green Lane in Acomb, both a short step from the frequent Tadcaster Road buses, and there is free street parking on the Acomb side. Dogs run off lead here every morning of the year, but cattle graze the moor through the summer months and calves are the real hazard, so keep a lead handy and walk round a herd rather than through it; there is no open water, so bring your own in a heatwave.

Just under two miles of open common between Huntington Road and Malton Road, dead flat, grass underfoot and comfortably walked in three quarters of an hour; the classic short evening loop for the Heworth and Stockton Lane dogs. Come in from Stockton Lane or Huntington Road with easy on-street parking, or take the number 10 or 20 bus to Heworth and walk up. It is a genuine off-lead space, but this is grazing land and cattle including cows with calves are out on it for much of the summer, so put the lead on when you see stock and give them room; the grass gets sodden after rain but there is nothing to wade and it recovers quickly.

A level three-mile circular from Tower Gardens along New Walk — the tree-lined riverside promenade laid out in the 1730s — over the Millennium Bridge and back past Rowntree Park on the far bank. Keep dogs on leads on the busy promenade and park stretches; the grassy banks by the bridge are good for a sniff about. Dog-friendly refuelling bookends the route: Dyls at Skeldergate Bridge and the Reading Cafe in Rowntree Park.

Twenty-four acres of reclaimed landfill turned local nature reserve a mile from the Minster, giving a mile and a half of easy looping paths through meadow, scrub and willow beside Osbaldwick Beck in about forty minutes. The environment centre is on Rawdon Avenue, YO10 3FW, and the small car park is reserved for visitors with limited mobility, so come on foot from Melrosegate or Hazel Court, by bike on cycle route 658, or on the 6 or 20 bus. St Nicks welcomes dogs provided they are on a lead or under close control and you clear up after them; the beck gives a drink but no swim, there is no livestock, and the surfaced main paths stay walkable through a wet January.

Two hundred acres of open common grassland wrapping around York Racecourse — the city's biggest space for a proper off-lead gallop, busy with local dogs every morning. Outside race and event days the whole stray is yours; on racedays cross to Hob Moor over the railway line instead. No livestock, but keep dogs clear of the gallops when racehorses are exercising early in the day.

Four and a third miles of entirely flat walking from York Station along the Ouse, over the Millennium Bridge and out on the old East Coast main line to Naburn, with Sustrans' scale model of the solar system counted off in tarmac as you go; allow a little over two hours and expect a hard surface the whole way. It is linear, so walk out and catch the 42 bus back from Naburn, or simply turn round at whichever planet has beaten the dog. Note honestly that the route passes beneath York's medieval bar walls but never on them, because dogs are not allowed on the wall-top walkways at all; on the path itself keep close control around cyclists, and be aware the shared surface means lead work through the city section, though the tarmac makes this the one York walk that is as good in January as in June.

Honesty first: dogs are not allowed on the wall-top walkways of York's medieval bar walls, assistance dogs excepted, so you cannot walk the ramparts themselves with a pet. Instead follow the two-mile street-level circuit beneath them — through the daffodil-banked ramparts and moat gardens between Bootham Bar and Monk Bar, past the Red Tower and round by Clifford's Tower — with the walls always overhead. All on lead, on pavements and park paths, and every bar gateway makes a natural photo stop.