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Hank loves water but is not a swimmer, for a big old beast he's remarkably dainty around water and will always try to stay within his depth. Find him a good stream or shallow access though and the delight on his face is wonderful as he enjoys sprinting and splashing and doing his best to get me soaked too!
These walks though are for the more adventurous water dogs who love a swim, and all feature areas where they can enjoy practising their doggy paddle to their hearts content so take a towel, and get a new air freshener for your car!
With restricted nature reserves and angling lakes, many places don't permit swimming and these things can also be seasonal so always worth checking up to date info if this is what you're looking for.
A great shallow acces section on a meander of the gentle river creates a fantastic beach which is just perfect for dogs!
It's not huge though and whilst not a crazy busy area for most of the year, it is popular on hot summer days where it is also used by local's to sunbathe and chill out so if you don't want to share, avoid peak summer times.
Found this place by complete accident, and a great surprise as it features two fantastic swimming spots.
There are two ponds that both have a wide shallow sandy access, and the main area which I think is set into an old quarry has a unique sandy dune type beach with several access points to the water so even if there are other dogs around it's not too crowded. That said I've been here a few times and only seen other dogs here on a handful of occasions so time it right and hopefully you'll have a bit more space to yourself!
This route takes you are two larger ponds interconnected by smaller streams and waterways. It's not a huge area, and much of the lakes are designated for angling so spleashing dogs are not particularly welcome.
There are a couple of places where dogs can enter though and we saw some other peopel throwing a ball in for their dog to swim after whcih looked great fun!
Whilst it can be busy here it is understandable as it's a popular location for a familiy day out and does have lots to offer.
You can walk around the main lake but it is of out of bounds for dogs to go in - however very consideratley there is the separate Island Pond which has a desginated Dog Dip area just perfect for a swim!
This is really familiy friendly place, with lots to see and do, facilites etc. but the walks surpised me as not beign too busy at all so was really nice and well laid out paths. If you follow my the Lodge Pond Trail you get to this picturesque pond, where along one side it even tells anglers not to fish so that dogs can play in the water.
