Summerleaze Beach

A four-mile figure of eight on entirely surfaced paths, comfortably done in an hour and three quarters, that puts the canal towpath and the Storm Tower cliff into the same short walk. It starts at the Bude Canal wharf where the sea lock is, with the big Crescent and Wharf car parks a minute away and buses stopping in the town centre. There are no stiles and no livestock, water birds on the canal instead, and Summerleaze beach takes dogs all year while Crooklets does not in season; the towpath is level and shaded enough for an old dog, though the Compass Point section is unfenced clifftop.

Six miles north along the cliffs to the National Trust beach at Sandymouth and back by the lanes, close to three hours with 200 metres of up and down in the valleys that cut the coast. It begins at Summerleaze in Bude and can be shortened at Northcott Mouth, where the wreck of the Belem shows at low tide; Sandymouth has its own Trust car park at the far end. There are no stiles on the route at all, three of the four beaches take dogs all year, and the freshwater streams at Northcott and Sandymouth are the reliable drink; the return lanes are quiet but tarmac, so expect some lead work.

Five and a half miles of clifftop south from Bude to Widemouth Bay and back inland, around two and a half hours with 130 metres of climbing on grass and beaten earth rather than steps. Start from the Summerleaze car park above the sea pool, which is the largest in Bude and the closest to the coast path; the Bude to Widemouth bus lets you make it one way if the wind turns. No stiles at all on the route, which makes it a good long walk for a big dog, but the cliff edge is unfenced almost the whole way and Widemouth is one of the earliest-restricted beaches in the county.