Search Results for: 12 things to do

Dog Friendly Pubs near Ashbourne

June 8, 2023 By

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Dog Friendly Pubs Ashbourne

This is a list of dog friendly pubs near Ashbourne. The list is not exhaustive, but gives you a flavour of the dog friendly pubs in the local area.

The George Hotel: Alstonefield, Nr Ashbourne, Derbyshire. DE6 2FX  Tel: 01335 310205

Knockerdown Inn: Nr Carsington Water, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. DE6 1NQ  Tel: 01629 540209

Bentley Brook: Fenny Bentley, Nr Ashbourne, Derbyshire  DE6 1LF  Tel: 01335 350278

The Dog & Partridge: Swinscoe, Nr Ashbourne, Derbyshire. DE6 2HS  Tel: 01335 343183

The Miners Standard:  Bank Top, Winster, Derbyshire. DE4 2DR  Tel: 01629 650279

Most of these pubs have log fires, and it is lovely in the winter, to be able to sip a drink by a roaring log fire, after a long dog walk.

Most pubs request that dogs must be kept on leads at all times, whilst in the pub. When you arrive at the pub, you might find that there are specific areas where dogs are allowed. These are usually the snugs/bars of the pubs rather than the restaurant. If you are in any doubt, just ask a member of the bar staff and they will point you in the right direction.

Useful Resources

Here are a couple of books that you might find useful, if you are wanting to do a dog friendly pub walk.

How about finding a dog friendly cafe

We realise that not everyone wants to visit a pub, so if you would rather have a cup of tea and a piece of cake, then you might be interested in visiting one of the local dog friendly cafes in Ashbourne. Please check our list of dog friendly cafes near Ashbourne.

Find a dog friendly cottage in Ashbourne

If you’re thinking of spending a bit more time in Ashbourne with your dog, then perhaps you should consider booking a dog friendly cottage near Ashbourne. There are a number of dog friendly cottages in the area, and you can easily find one to suit your needs. Simply filter your searches for dog friendly accommodation.

One of our favourite things to do after have explored the area, is to snuggle up in front of a log fire. You can choose dog friendly holiday cottage and specify that they have a log burner. Although if it’s in the middle of the summer then probably that isn’t appropriate. Maybe a hot tub would be better!

Filed Under: Ashbourne Pubs, Pub Directory

Woodland Dog Walks in the Peak District

June 8, 2023 By

If you’d like to experience some woodland dog walks in the Peak District, then please keep reading. In this post I will highlight some of the many woodlands that exist in the Peak District. We hope that you enjoy these areas with your dog as much as we do!

This post may contain affiliate links. As a result we may earn a small commission if you click on one of the links and subsequently order something. There is no additional costs to you, it just helps us maintain the website.

Goyt Valley Woodland Walk
Goyt Valley Woodland Walk

We have such a diverse landscape in the Peak District, ranging from open moorland and gritstone edges to soft green pastures and rolling hills, but one of my favourite places for a dog walk is walking in the woods. In the Summer, it is cool and you can avoid the harsh summer sun (if you want to), in the rain, you are protected from the weather by walking under this huge “natural umbrella” and in the Autumn, woods are great for kicking along the leaves that have fallen. The woods take on a whole new persona as each season passes. The other great advantage, is that you don’t have to keep an eye out for livestock, as you very rarely find them in woodlands.

Longdendale Estate (Stalybridge) – 865 acres

Directions: From A57 in Glossop take the B6105 and follow the road alongside the reservoirs until you reach Torside car park. (National Park Information Centre). SK008975

Details: The woodland has a path which climbs uphill via Wildboar Clough, and a stream that cascades down. You can enjoy views across to the reservoirs and moorlands. You’ll find access to the woods is via the Longendale Trail which is part of the Trans Pennine trail.

I’m pretty sure this is where Tilly and I stopped off for a dog walk after we had been further North to visit potential stud dogs when she was younger. In fact we’re planning on going back again, as it’s such a beautiful area to walk.

Recommended Dog walk books

Upper Derwent Woodlands (2012 acres) SK173893

Situated off the A57 west of Sheffield.

If you start at the visitor centre at Fairholmes you’ll find toilets and snacks available. There are several waymarked walks from Fairholmes but there are lots of other footpaths that you can follow to make up your own route. The dams here were used by the “Dambusters” during the Second World War and there is a museum which tells you more about this on the west side of the Derwent Dam.

Wharncliffe Woods (1127 acres) SK324951

Directions: (Sheffield) From A61 turn West towards Grenoside. Take the Woodhead Road north through the village. The wood is on the left once you are through the village.

The woods is part of the South Yorkshire Forest.  In fact, Wharcliffe Chase was part of a Royal Hunting Lodge and in Greno Woods stone was mined. There are access routes for bikers, horse riders and walkers.

Rivelin Valley (Sheffield) – 247 acres. SK324888

Directions: From A61 at Owlerton take the B6079 towards Malinbridge. The wood is on the right once you have passed through Malinbridge. 

Here there are some wonderful walks along the riverside. In fact, you’ll see evidence of the area’s industrial heritage on your walk, including dams, millponds and weirs.

Padley Gorge – 62 acres SK257799

Directions: Take the B6521 towards Calver. From A623 turn onto B6001 at Calver and then B6521 in Grindleford towards the station. Park at the station.

There is a great circular walk from Grindleford Station- walk along the river cross the wooden footbridge to the open country above the woodland and cross down to the other side of the gorge – taking in the contrast between open moorland and shady woodland. There are refreshments at a cafe close to the station. Large seating area outside.

Linacre Woodlands (200 acres) SK335728

Directions: Located off B6050 west of Cutthorpe – near Chesterfield.

Woodland surrounds three reservoirs, but there are also lots of footpaths around the edges of the woodland – so you can avoid the reservoirs altogether if you wish. There are toilets on site. You’ll find parking available on site with plenty of paths to follow.

Eccleshall Woods – Sheffield (346 acres) SK323824

Directions: From the A621 turn west at the Beauchief traffic lights onto Abbey Lane.

This is the largest ancient woodland site in the Sheffield area, where lots of wildlife can be found. There is an extensive network of public footpaths and bridleways and a special trail for less able people.

Black Rocks – Cromford (210 acres) SK291557

Directions: Take the B5036 off the A6 south towards Wirksworth. After approx 1 mile turn left into Black Rocks car park.

The name Black Rocks, takes itself from the huge gritstone rocks which are visible at the entrance to the site from the car park. There are a couple of well marked routes, which take you through forests and sections of open woodland with heathers. The site also crosses the High Peak trail – popular with walkers and cyclists.

This is just a small selection of the woodland dog walks in the Peak District that you can explore with your dog. They are great for a short stay or simply an afternoon out with the dog and kids.

Hope you enjoy.

Filed Under: Featured Walks Tagged With:

Media

Out and About – January 2013 edition

We’ve recently been lucky enough to get a 5 page feature in Dog Friendly’s Out and About magazine. In the article, we describe one of our regular walking places in and around the Monsal Trail. We have noted several pubs, hotels and coffee shops that are dog friendly along the way.

Out&About17_pg21-25_Monsal_Trail

December 28th 2012 – Radio Derby interview

Tilly and Jane were interviewed on the Ian Skye program. They were talking about 12 things to do in the Peak District with your dog. This coincided with the memorable date of 12/12/12, hence the reason for the blog post in the first place. Jane was able to discuss many of the dog friendly pubs and places in the Peak District, whilst Tilly sat under the desk, wagging her tail!

Jane & Tilly at Radio Derby

Jane & Tilly at Radio Derby

Review of Tea Shop Walks – Peak District

June 8, 2023 By

One of my favourite things to do is drink coffee and eat cake! As you can imagine, a book about Tea Shop walks has certainly piqued my interest. So I’m going to review this book and I’ll let you know my honest thoughts.

I’m looking specifically at whether the tea shops are dog friendly, but I’m also interested to see what walks they are suggesting.

Please note that there are affiliate links contained within this post. We may earn a small commission if you click on the link and subsequently order something. There will be no additional cost to you, but it does help us run this website.

There are 10 walks in the book and the book highlights 10 tea shops, one for each walk. The walks cover a fairly wide area across the Peak District, so there is something for everyone.

The walking distances range from 3 – 6 miles, so nothing too extreme.

Are the tea shops dog friendly?

You might be wondering whether I am giving too much information away, by telling you which tea shops are included. Fear not though, I am only giving you the information, that is also provided in the Amazon blurb about this book.

You’ll still need to buy the book if you want all the walk information! It’s less than the price of a couple of cups of coffee, so it won’t break the bank!

I’m going to look at each of the featured tea shops and tell you which one’s are dog friendly. If they are not dog friendly, I will try and offer an alternative.

1. Hassop Station, Bakewell

Hassop Station cafe is located just off the Monsal Trail, pretty close to Bakewell. Whilst the cafe itself is not dog friendly inside, they have a substantial outside seating area, which is covered. Plenty of people with dogs use this space and waterbowls and tethers are provided for the dogs.

We suggest this cafe as a convenient stopping point for our Bakewell Loop dog walk. Ironically, the walk featured in the book is basically the Bakewell Loop in reverse, but don’t worry, it is the only walk that is similar to any of ours.

2. Cafe Adventure, Hope

Muddy boots and paws are very welcome in this cosy cafe! The Adventure cafe is situated on Edale Road in the village of Hope. It has some excellent reviews on Trip Advisor and seems very popular with cyclists and walkers.

The walk featured with this cafe will take you to Win Hill where there are spectacular views across to Ladybower reservoir.

3. Anglers’ Rest Cafe, Bamford

The Anglers’ Rest Cafe is a community-owned cafe and can be found in Bamford. It is unusual, as it features a pub at one end, a cafe at the other and a post office in the middle!

You’ll be pleased to discover that it is definitely dog friendly, and I can confirm that it has a lovely atmosphere and the food is good too!

The walk that the author has matched with this cafe is the longest distance at 6 miles but covers some spectacular scenery. You’ll experience fabulous views from Bamford Edge.

4. The Old Smithy, Monyash

The Old Smithy is definitely dog friendly and as a result we feature this cafe in our Monyash Meander dog walk.

The accompanying walk covers some lovely parts of Lathkill Dale and features stunning limestone crags. I’d recommend taking your camera to capture some stunning shots. The dogs will appreciate this area, because there are plenty of opportunities for some off lead walking.

5. The Butterfly House, New Mills

This is an interesting one…. I hadn’t heard of the Butterfly House, and when I googled it, I was led to The Torrs. I’ve discovered that this building used to be a pub called The Torrs but it has been re-purposed several times. At present, it houses 3 holiday apartments on the first floor.

In Autumn 2020 the building was transformed and now includes a zero waste shop, called Millers Refillers, Archie’s Cafe and also a work hub.

I can confirm that Archie’s cafe and bar has now replaced The Butterfly House and is definitely dog friendly.

The walk accompanying this cafe is said to have a “watery theme.” In fact you will cross the Millennium Walkway, an elegant steel walkway and certainly worthy of a photo or two.

6. Edensor Tea Cottage, Chatsworth

The village of Edensor is right next door to Chatsworth House and according to Tripadvisor, Edensor tea cottage is very dog friendly!

You could incorporate our weekend dog walk around Chatsworth to make this a lovely day out.

Alternatively, you can experience the walk in the book which sounds really interesting.

7. Penny Pot Cafe, Edale

The Penny Pot cafe is certainly dog friendly and used by lots of walkers. There is even a hikers guide on their website which you can download at your leisure.

The walk detailed in this book includes crossing a ford at Grindbrook’s main headwater. As a result, you’ll need proper walking boots for this walk! It looks pretty interesting.

8. Longshaw Cafe, Longshaw Lodge

You’ll find Longshaw cafe on the Longshaw estate which is owned by the National Trust. Your dog will need to be kept on a lead during dog walks, but there are plenty of areas to explore.

I don’t think that the cafe is dog friendly inside, but there is space to sit outside with your dog.

The walk includes some gentle strolling around the estate, which you’ll find is relaxing as you take in the beautiful views.

9. Roaches Tearooms, Upper Hulme

The Roaches Tearooms is situated in Upper Hulme. near Leek. I don’t think that this one is dog friendly, but the walk associated with this cafe looks pretty spectacular.

An alternative would be to try the 3 Horseshoes Inn which is a dog friendly Country Inn and Spa.

10. Three Roofs Cafe, Castleton

The Three roofs is definitely a dog friendly cafe. In fact you’ll find it situated right in the heart of Castleton. You’ll see it if you cross the road from the Visitor Centre car park.

The walk takes in Caves Dale on the Limestone Way and also Odin Mine. There are plenty of other dog friendly cafes that you can find back in Castleton. Just take a look at our Dog friendly cafes in the Hope Valley post to find out more.

In conclusion

Having reviewed all the cafes and walks in this book, I can confirm that 7 out of 10 of the cafes are definitely dog friendly, 2 provide outdoor space for dogs, but 1 (the Roaches Tearooms) I cannot be certain about.

The walks all seem to be pretty good and have lots of interesting aspects to them. In fact, we feature two of the walks on our website and we know that they are dog friendly. The others are definitely worth exploring to discover some new areas with your four legged friend.

I hope this review has proved useful for you, and that you enjoy many a cup of tea/coffee and slice of cake!

You can buy the book on Amazon

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Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With:

Recipe for Puppy Porridge

June 8, 2023 By

If you are about to wean your puppies, then this post will provide our recipe for puppy porridge. Our puppies absolutely loved this, and although it gets quite messy, it’s a lovely experience watching and listening the puppies enjoy their food!

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of the links, I may receive a small commission, but you will not be charged a thing. This just helps pay for the upkeep of the website and a few more hungry mouths!

First puppy porridge Day 24
Puppies eating their first puppy porridge

It’s been a momentous morning, the puppies have eaten their first puppy porridge!
We have been giving them puppy milk for the last week, but decided that it was time to start filling their tummies up a little bit more. Needless to say, the porridge was a great hit! A bit messy, but now that we have got the proper play pen surrounding the whelping pen, we have more room to serve breakfast, lunch and tea!

Recipe for Puppy Porridge

Here’s the recipe:
Makes 4 small bowls (multiply quantities where necessary)

You will need:
200 ml hot water (70C) to mix with milk powder
100 ml milk powder (we use Royal Canin, but use whatever brand you have, served at the appropriate quantities)
100 g dry puppy kibble (we use Beta Large breed puppy)

Method:


1. Soak the puppy kibbles in hot/boiling water for a few hours (overnight is good)
2. Once the water has soaked up into the kibbles, make up the puppy milk according to manufacturers instructions.
3. Put the soaked puppy kibbles into a blender and add the milk, blend.
4. Put the blended mixture into puppy bowls and serve.

Warning:
Make sure the puppy porridge is not too hot when served, it should be luke warm.

Resources for Puppy Porridge

If you are interested in the products that we have used to wean our puppies then you may find the following section useful.

Please be aware that we will be using affiliate links to Amazon so if you are not interested, please skip to the end of the post. Otherwise please read on….

Puppy Play Pen

This is an absolute must, if you are planning on keeping the puppies in your house. It contains all the mess in one place and is very easy to move around if you need to. You can alter the shape of the pen, and make it smaller if needed. We bought the extra large pen, as we had 9 pups to accommodate! It is very strong, and we raised two litters in this. We’re going to be lending our pen to some friends very soon, for their pups.

Royal Canin Baby Dog Milk

We used this product for both our litters and had no problems whatsoever. You can expect to use a lot of this milk. We bought the extra large tins as we had large litters and needed the extra milk. The puppies loved it, and it made great puppy porridge.

Other brands of puppy milk

Rubber Matting for puppy play pen

I would strongly recommend that you buy some rubber matting for the base of your play pen. We have a stone floor, but even so, I still wanted to protect it from dog poop and pee. It makes things so much easier to keep clean. This rubber matting is particularly recommended for pets and cages, so it’s pet friendly. It can be chopped up and fitted to the size of your pen.

Mixer for blitzing the porridge

You will need a blender of some description to blend your soaked puppy kibbles and the baby dog milk together. Here’s the one I used, but its not particularly cheap. You might be able to find a cheaper alternative. When I used the mixer daily, the pups got used to hearing a bit of loud noise in the kitchen too!

Best Selling Dog Products

The Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws

We hope that you have enjoyed reading this post about Puppy Porridge. It was something that we found really useful when we managed two litters of puppies with our dog Tilly.

I kept a diary of what we experienced when we first bred Tilly and it might hold some useful nuggets of information for you. If you would like to read more, please start here. The Pitter Patter of Tiny Paws Part 1.

Filed Under: New Litter (30 April 2014), Puppies
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