The Best Dog Friendly Walks in Cornwall

Here are 5 of our favourite walks after living in South East of Cornwall for a year.

Dog friendly walks and beaches seem like a rare gem in Cornwall sometimes, especially during the high season of summer. Here are our favourite little adventures that can be made big or small depending on your time and energy.

Image description: Jack and Becky are standing side-by-side on Tregantle Beach, with their arms behind each other's backs. They are a silhouette against the bright, sparkling blue background of the sky and shimmering sea, their Greek rescue dog wandering along the shore nearby.

TREGANTLE BEACH

Our absolute favourite, for warm or rainy days, hands-down. We would sometimes park the van in the long-stay car park and then go back there for a while for a hot chocolate and read or nap as it was so quiet. Whitsand Bay is made up of a handful of beaches which are sometimes connected at low tide, though Tregantle is our favourite for being long, sandy and safe to swim at. Though you need to be able to scramble a bit down the path which goes through MOD land, it is worth it if you do not rely on mobility aids or are in good shape. A great place for beachcombing and the occasional rockpool. Watch out: it does get very small and some parts are completely cut off at low tide!

SEATON BEACH

Though both sides of the stream are great, you’ll have a preference. We enjoy the left-hand side which is the most accessible (with a ramp in one part) for swims and socialising our dog; the right-hand side, which has the café on, is perfect for rock pooling and off-lead walkies with much fewer people. Free parking off season and reasonable rates during high season, we kept coming back here all the time for hour-long or three hour-long walks.

Image description: Becky is sat on the bed with Winnie, who is wearing her winter doggy coat. They are looking out of the back doors of the van, onto Seaton Beach. It is a blustery evening and no-one is on the part of the beach that the van is overlooking. In the top right hand corner is the huge rocky outcrop of the cliffs of Seaton that overlook the beach.

GOLITHA FALLS

This magical place totally changed our views on forests. Though we always swore our favourite places in the world were beaches, Golitha stole our hearts. The main trail is now wheelchair friendly, with no big inclines as it follows the river along. However, if you can climb up the hill and off the main track, deeper into the forest, you might only pass one or two other groups of people- perfect for nervous dogs… or people! It comes back down the hill and still ends up overlooking the rapids, which echo along the valley.

RAME HEAD

Rame Head can be a full walk along the South West Coastal Path to Whitsand Bay, or a little walk to the viewpoint and back from the car park. The views are stunning in all weathers, but especially captivating in the sun when the water looks bright blue and sparkles back at you. There are horses grazing in the open around the old fort, but none once you start along the coastal path. Well worth the three-hour round trip, especially if you bring a picnic!

Image description: Jack, Becky and Winnie are crouched on a large, flat rock next to the rapids of Golitha Falls, with bright green trees behind them. They are smiling from ear to ear as this is their favourite local walk and always have fun there, from paddling their feet, walking barefoot in the forest or dancing between the trees together. Winnie is sniffing the treats in Becky's hand.

KIT HILL

The only walk on this list that is not water-orientated. Kit Hill is a lovely walk over hills with a great viewpoint at the top, it also has an abundance of wildflowers and heather. Though there is the occasional pony or grazer in the country park, Winnie was able to be off-lead most of the time and played with the few dogs we saw along the way.

I hope you enjoyed this little adventure list, remember to always be responsible and leave no trace of you being there, for nature.