Dog-friendly Christchurch

Cafe and restaurant on the sand at Mudeford, with a beach bar and tables facing Christchurch Bay. Dogs are very welcome, water bowls are ready for them and the beach bar sells doggie donuts. A natural stop on a walk out to the Head or the sandbank.

A 3.4-mile riverside circuit of an hour and three quarters from the quay along Convent Walk under the priory wall, across the Stour on the little Wick ferry and back through the water meadows of Wick Fields to Tuckton Bridge. Flat, mostly surfaced, with meadow paths that flood in winter. Start at the Quay Road or Willow Way car parks, both pay and display and both close to the priory; Christchurch station is a fifteen-minute walk and the town is on the main Waterloo line. Leads along the quay and Convent Walk, where the drop into deep water is unfenced and the swans are territorial in spring, and the ferryman charges a small fare for a dog. Wick Fields is grazed and gives shallow river access for a paddle.

Three level miles in an hour and a half through the grounds of a Gothic Revival castle, east along the clifftop to the wooded gorge of Chewton Bunny on the Hampshire border, and back inland through Steamer Point woods. Surfaced paths and mown grass, 40 metres of climb, with a long stepped zig zag down to the beach if you want the sand. Park at Highcliffe Castle, pay and display, about 150 spaces, with the tea rooms and toilets on site and free parking on Wharncliffe Road as an alternative. Highcliffe Beach allows dogs all year except between groynes H4 and H8 from 1 May to 30 September, and Friars Cliff between the wave wall and groyne H4 is open all year, so there is legal sand here in August; leads on the clifftop paths and in the castle grounds.

A level 2.2-mile hour round a saltmarsh local nature reserve at the meeting of the Avon and the Stour, with Hengistbury across the water and a bird list that runs past three hundred species. Gravel paths and mown grass, muddy at the creek crossings, and prone to flooding on a spring tide, so wellingtons in winter. Park at the Stanpit Recreation Ground car park off Stanpit, free, about fifty spaces, with a second free car park at Argyle Road; both are small and shared with dog walkers all day. Cattle and ponies graze the marsh, so leads across the grazing and where the reserve signs ask for it, and the creeks are tidal salt water with soft mud on the edges.

Modern riverside hotel and spa on the Stour at Wick Ferry, four-star and rather glassy, with the Priory a walk away along the bank. Dogs are welcome in the bedrooms and the Luxury Suites at £20 per dog per night, and may relax on the terrace and in the bar, but must be on a lead and accompanied at all times. Tell them at booking so the right room is set aside.

Heathland headland and nature reserve between the sea and Christchurch Harbour, with an Iron Age fort, the beach huts of Mudeford Spit and views to the Isle of Wight. BCP Council names Hengistbury Head as open to dogs all year round. Ground-nesting birds use the heath, so keep to the paths in spring.