My Top 5 Dog Walks in Derby
If you’re searching for new places to explore with your dog, I’ve put together my top 5 places to walk your dogs in Derbyshire!
Whether you have a dog who loves water. If your dog has the time of their life meandering through the woodland. Or if they hop their way through the long grass, there’s a walk for them all to enjoy on the doorstep to the Peak District!
If you’ve been to any of the places on my list, why not let me know if you enjoyed them as much as we do.
Elvaston Castle Country Park
A huge country estate, which Derbyshire County Council says has over 300 acres to explore! I’ve found the park has the perfect mix of woodland and open fields, it’s a great place for kids to go too as they can find the mini caves and nooks to play in, or ride their bikes around the dedicated pathways.
There’s a lovely big lake, a stream. an old country house (that you can admire from the outside) and loads of separate garden areas. It has something for everyone, and they generally have lots of dog friendly events on the big field throughout the year. like craft fayres and food and drinks fayres.
There’s also a big car park so when you arrive (unless it’s an event day) you’ll find a space, do be aware the parking is pay and display. If you want to find out more about Elvaston Castle and for directions - check out Derbyshire Council’s website:
Foremark Reservoir
Has over 200 acres of woodland, and a nature reserve. There’s lots of different paths to walk depending on how far you want to go and how much time you want to spend there. You can get some light snacks in the kiosk, pop to the loo (you’re not in the middle of nowhere), there’s even a play park for the kids! So the whole family can enjoy a day out at Foremark. You do have to pay for parking here!
You can take a packed lunch and sit on one of the benches taking in the view - why not practise a settle with your dog while you’re there?! It’ll help teach them to be calm, and then you can enjoy your walks in the woodland, or follow the path along the reservoir.
Here’s the link to the National Trust site with all the info - address, facilities and site opening hours.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/peak-district-derbyshire/foremark/index
Robin Wood
This one’s more of an open woodland walk in South Derbyshire, which is part of the National Forest. There’s no car park here so do check before you go where you can park up. It would mean it’s free parking though!
There’s different gradient levels, so if you prefer low level less intense, or a bit more of a trek with your dog you can take your pick.
Melbourne Pool Circular
This one’s an easy walk at around 2km. You can park up near Melbourne Pool (next to the church) for free, there’s limited spaces but I’ve never had a problem parking there. Initially cars will be passing by, so it’s on lead for the doggos, but you’ll soon be able to let your dog off lead when you walk around to the far end of the pool. The pathway is marked with public footpath signs so is easy to find your way around too.
If you wanted to walk into Melbourne village, there’s some lovely independent cafe’s. One of my faves is Tea at Three (which is dog friendly!), it’s tucked away down an old, cute alleyway but it serves the most amazing afternoon tea and cake! There’s also dog friendly pubs like The Melbourne Inn and Harpurs, along with some lovely independent shops. You can have the best of both worlds here as you’ll have countryside to wander through and then food & drink to end the walk. What’s not to love about that?!
Kedleston Estate
If you’d love to explore somewhere a bit more exciting than the pavements with your dog who might be reactive to off lead dogs approaching them, then this one’s a great choice. Kedleston Hall has hundreds of acres of land to walk around and they say on their website:
“Dogs are free to roam the parkland and pleasure grounds but must be kept on a lead at all times.”
So, your dog doesn’t need to miss out on the open spaces that they’re just as entitled to visit as anyone else. Dogs don’t have to be off lead to enjoy their walks, having lots of sniffing time on lead (a long line can be great for this!) is sometimes better for them than getting an adrenaline hit.
So, that’s my whistlestop tour of my 5 favourite dog walking spots in and around Derby. It was super difficult to choose just 5 because there are SO many amazing places to visit in this beautiful part of the country.
I’m so lucky to have the Peak District on my doorstep.
If you want to be able to explore more places with your dog, but they may be nervous, anxious, fear reactive or have rubbish recall get in touch to see how we can help - call or WhatsApp 07476 903840, email info@lavendergardenanimalservices.co.uk
