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Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsGuide · England
Dog-friendly walks in the Peak District
Ten walks where the dog will have as good a day as you, from an easy dale to the top of Kinder Scout.
By the TRXO team · · 5 min read
- walks
- 10
- long
- 2.7–14 km
- biggest climb
- 520 m
- by public transport
- 2
- dog-friendly
- 10
The Peak District is a good place to walk a dog. The paths are clear, the distances are sane, there's water in every dale and a pub at the end of most of them. The catch is that it's also a working landscape: sheep on the moors, cattle in the dales, grouse on the heather, and ground-nesting birds from March to July. A dog-friendly walk here is one where you can keep the dog on a lead when you need to and let it run when you don't.
These ten are our picks. They range from a flat riverside stroll to the full day on Kinder, and every one has a route you can follow, somewhere to park and a note on where the livestock are. We've left out the gritstone edges where the drops are sheer, and Dovedale's stepping stones in flood.
Where they are
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Monsal Head
Monsal Head and Monsal Dale
- 4.3 km distance
- 110 m ascent
- 1–1.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe classic short Peak walk: down from the famous viewpoint at Monsal Head, along the River Wye under the old railway viaduct, and back up. Dogs can paddle at the weir. It's about an hour and a half, flat apart from the climb back to the café.
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Over Haddon
Lathkill Dale from Over Haddon
- 9.1 km distance
- 170 m ascent
- 2.5–3 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA limestone dale with a river that appears out of the rock and disappears again, and no road in it at all. Lathkill Dale is a national nature reserve, so dogs stay on leads, but it's nine kilometres of easy walking beside clear water with dippers on it, and the Lathkil Hotel at the top for afterwards.
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Wetton
Thor's Cave and the Manifold Valley
- 3.3 km distance
- 150 m ascent
- 1–1.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXShort, strange and good fun. Thor's Cave is a huge mouth in a limestone crag above the Manifold valley, and the path to it from Wetton is steep but brief. The Manifold Way below is an old railway line, flat and traffic-free, where the dog can run.
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Dovedale
Dovedale and Thorpe Cloud
- 8.4 km distance
- 500 m ascent
- 3–4 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXDovedale is the most visited dale in the Peak, and for good reason: the river, the stepping stones, the limestone pinnacles. Add Thorpe Cloud, the little pointed hill at the entrance, for a view of the whole thing. Busy at weekends, so go early; the stepping stones flood after heavy rain.
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Greenfield
Dovestone Reservoir
- 6.2 km distance
- 220 m ascent
- 2–2.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXOn the Saddleworth side of the park, a flat circuit of a reservoir below gritstone crags, with a wide track all the way round and plenty of room for a dog to run off the lead. Six kilometres, no stiles, and a kiosk at the car park. The moors above are grouse country; keep to the circuit.
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Lyme Park
Lyme Park and the Cage
- 2.7 km distance
- 40 m ascent
- 0.5–1 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA National Trust deer park with a hunting tower on the hill, used as Pemberley in the BBC Pride and Prejudice. Short and easy, and dogs are welcome in the park on leads because of the deer. A good one for an older dog, or a short winter afternoon.
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Castleton
Mam Tor and the Great Ridge
- 9 km distance
- 400 m ascent
- 3–4 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXMam Tor and the Great Ridge to Lose Hill is the best-known walk in the Peak District, and it earns it: a paved path along a ridge with Edale on one side and Castleton on the other. There's nothing a dog can't manage and nothing to fall off. Sheep graze both sides, so it's a lead walk, but a glorious one.
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Ladybower Reservoir
Win Hill from Ladybower
- 5.8 km distance
- 350 m ascent
- 2–2.5 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA steep little climb from Ladybower reservoir through pine forest to a rocky summit with a view over all three Derwent reservoirs. Shorter than Mam Tor and far quieter. The forest section is the dog's favourite part.
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Hollinsclough
Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill
- 4.5 km distance
- 260 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe Dragon's Back: two sharp limestone ridges in the upper Dove valley that look like they belong in the Dolomites. Chrome Hill is on a concession path, Parkhouse is steep and scrambly, and both are short. Cattle are often in the fields between them, so this is a lead walk, and not one for a dog that's nervous on rock.
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Edale
Kinder Scout from Edale
- 14 km distance
- 520 m ascent
- 5 h time
- Moderate grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe big one. Kinder Scout is the plateau where the 1932 mass trespass started the movement that gave us the right to roam, and the walk up from Edale by Grindsbrook and back by Jacob's Ladder is the classic way to see it. Fourteen kilometres, boggy on top, with a dog-friendly pub at both ends. Keep the dog on a lead on the moor between March and July for the birds.
Before you go
- Sheep are everywhere in the Peak and farmers can legally shoot a dog worrying them. On a lead near livestock, no exceptions.
- On open access land, dogs must be on a short lead from 1 March to 31 July, and at all times near sheep. That covers Kinder, Mam Tor and the edges.
- Cattle with calves are the real danger. If cows approach, let the dog off the lead and walk calmly away; the dog can outrun them and so can you if you're not holding it.
- Water: the dales have rivers, the moors don't. Carry some for the dog on Kinder and Mam Tor.
- Edale, Hathersage, Castleton and Bamford all have trains, and the pubs at the end of most of these walks take dogs.
Questions people ask
Can dogs go off the lead in the Peak District?
On most footpaths through fields and dales, yes, if the dog is under control and there's no livestock. On open access land (the moors and edges) they must be on a short lead from March to July, and near sheep all year.
Which Peak District walks have water for dogs?
Monsal Dale, Lathkill Dale, Dovedale and the Manifold valley all follow rivers. Dovestone has the reservoir edge. Kinder and Mam Tor are dry; carry water.
Are there dog-friendly pubs?
Plenty. The Old Nag's Head and the Rambler in Edale, the Lathkil Hotel at Over Haddon, the Cheshire Cheese in Castleton and the Yorkshire Bridge at Ladybower all welcome dogs.
Is Dovedale suitable for dogs?
Yes, on a lead; it's busy and there are sheep. The stepping stones are fine for most dogs when the river is low, and there's a footbridge nearby if not.
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