Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Three and a half level miles there and back along three miles of the finest sand in southern England, an hour and three quarters with essentially no climb, on firm sand at low water and soft dune path higher up. Start from the National Trust Knoll Beach car park, free to members, and walk north: at the far end the chain ferry crosses to Sandbanks and takes dogs, which makes a one-way version possible on the number 50 bus. Dogs must be on a short lead on the beach from 1 May to 30 September under the dog order, and on a lead in the dunes from March to July for the ground-nesting birds, but they can swim off lead in the sea all year, and the water here is shallow and sheltered.
A 3.8-mile circuit of Purbeck heath in two hours, out to the great leaning ironstone block of the Agglestone and round by the Puckstone on sandy tracks and boardwalk, with 110 metres of climb and standing water in the hollows most of the winter. Start from the National Trust Knoll Beach car park, free to members, huge, and with the visitor centre, toilets and outdoor showers on site. This is lowland heath of European importance: dogs must be on a lead from March to July because nightjars, Dartford warblers and skylarks nest on the ground, and adders bask on the sandy path edges in spring, which is a real hazard for a dog nosing through heather.
Reworked family hotel set back in the pines above Studland Bay, a couple of minutes' walk from Knoll Beach through the heath. Every one of its rooms is dog-friendly, which is rare enough to be the reason to book. Book direct and the pools and facilities are included.
The four-mile classic, an hour and a half of level chalk downland out to the sea stacks at Handfast Point and back, on wide grass paths with only 90 metres of climb. Start at the National Trust South Beach car park at Studland, free to members and pay and display otherwise, with the Bankes Arms next door; it holds a few hundred cars and still queues down Ferry Road by eleven in summer. Dogs can be off lead on the down under close control, but the cliff edge at Old Harry is unfenced chalk that undercuts and collapses, so leads for the last stretch is the sane call; on the beach below, dogs must be on a short lead from 1 May to 30 September, and can swim off lead all year.
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