The UK’s most dog-friendly forests

Our interactive map shows the best woodland walks to take your pooch for a stroll in the great outdoors.

At Dog Friendly Cottages, it’s fair to say we’re obsessed with discovering the best experiences that you and your furry friend can share together.

That’s why we’ve scoured the UK to find the most dog-friendly woods to explore, whether it’s summer, winter or paw-tumn. Using data from Google Maps, we’ve ranked each woodland based on what matters most to dog owners, so you know you’re barking up the right tree.

But we didn’t stop there.

We’ve created an interactive map that allows you to find the best dog-friendly forests near you.

Whether you’re planning a doggy day trip somewhere different or looking for a new local spot to explore, our map will help you find the perfect woodland for you and your canine companion to have a ball. This way for our paw-some map…

The UK’s best dog-friendly forests map

Using our map is simple – just enter your postcode and it will show you the top-rated woodlands closest to you.

Each woodland is marked with a paw icon to show how it scores:

• Green paws represent the best-rated woods, offering the ultimate combo of nearby dog-friendly cafes, great user ratings and space for your dog to explore.
• Yellow and red paws indicate woods that are still great, but may have fewer amenities or slightly lower ratings. They're still worth a visit, just might not offer the same level of facilities as the top-rated locations.
  

How we ranked the woods

Our analysis focused on several key factors that are essential for a great dog-walking experience, carefully considering each one to give every woodland an overall score out of 10.

Dog-friendly cafés in the area

Recharging with a coffee – and a puppuccino, of course – is one of the best parts of a long dog walk. So we looked at the dog-friendly cafés within a half-mile radius of each woodland.

Average rating

We took a close look at user reviews of each woodland to make sure they’re well-loved. Higher-rated woodlands mean a more paws-itive experience, like well-maintained trails and dog-friendly facilities.

Total number of ratings

The more reviews a woodland has, the more reliable the overall feedback. So we took the total number of ratings into account, making sure the woodlands have been visited and reviewed by a significant number of people.

Size of the woodland

The bigger the wood, the more room for your dog to have a good run, or sniff, around. We scored each location based on its total size in hectares.

Why did we do this?

At Dog Friendly Cottages, we’re passionate about helping dog owners find the best places to create lasting memories with their four-legged friends.

We know how much joy a simple woodland walk can bring, not just to dogs, but to their owners too. We wanted to make it easier and take the guesswork out of finding the most dog-friendly woodlands across the UK. Now, you’ve got all the information you need in one place – we hope it helps you plan the perfect day out with your pup.

Methodology

All data has been collected via Google Maps on 17th September 2024.

Full data is available upon request, just email pr@snaptrip.com.