Dog Walking

Dog Walking in and around Swanage

Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck is the ideal place for a long or short walk with your dogs. The area has many outstanding places to walk and apart from the main beach at Swanage and Studland Beach there are no restrictions on the times of the year that you can walk your dogs.

Restrictions on Beach access with a dog:

Studland Beaches, no dogs on Middle and Knoll Beaches from the end of June to the beginning of September. Dogs allowed on Shell Bay and South Beach all year if on a lead and owners clean up after them and use the bins provided.

Swanage Beach, No Dogs from 1 May to 30 September. Bins are provided for all other times.

Worbarrow Bay, Kimmeridge Beaches, Dogs are allowed at all times.

We can recommend the following locations for dog walks all year round:

Durlston Country Park, Grid Ref:SZ050800. Has many footpaths that are in good condition even in wet weather. Parking is available at the visitors centre and you can walk along the cliff path or the many fields that are at the top of the park.

Ballard Down, Grid Ref:SZ022816. Has footpaths and bridleways that run along the full length of the ridge way, you can let your dog off the lead as long as it is under close control and keep it on a lead in fields with livestock. On the Studland side it is advisable to keep your dog on a lead as all times as the cliff edge is sometimes only a few feet from the paths and some of the edge is hidden by bushes and your dog could fall off!
(last year we saw this happen when we were kayaking at the base of the cliff and luckily the dog survived with minor injures, and even appeared on the local news!)

Corfe Common, Grid Ref:SY957809. Corfe Common is ideal for a short walk and has fences all around the perimeter. Horses are often grazing on the common so care should be taken when near them and keep your dog on a lead when approaching the common entrance from the Kingston road as cars and lorries often travel fast along the road.

Wareham Forest, Grid Ref: SY900900. Wareham Forest has many miles of tracks that are well signposted for walking. There are some wet areas in the forest that you should take care around but your dog should be ok off the lead as long as it is under close control. There are dog waste bins provided at the many car parks so please take a bag with you in case !!!