If you think that dog-friendly walks in Newcastle might be hard to find, then think again because this vibrant city has a swathe of green spaces and coastal stretches for your best buddy to thrive in the great outdoors. Coupled with that, there are pet friendly pubs in Newcastle, too, where both of you can refresh and refuel.
With more than 800,000 people, it is the eighth-most populous urban area in the UK. It’s a university city, too, with nearly 25,000 enrolments every year with students coming from more than 120 countries. Development is ongoing, with modern buildings rising up every year, but open land is still highly treasured, providing good places to walk dogs.
Find Good Places to Walk Dogs in Newcastle
Some of the best city dog walks in Newcastle are close to the centre, while on the fringes, it’s the woodland walks in Newcastle with dogs that are increasingly popular destinations. This king of the Geordie shore is not all about the nightlife. Student shindigs, hens and stags, dog owners and their canine chargers are catered for too.
Dog Walking in Newcastle, Where to Go?
1. Wagon Ways, Whitley Bay
If Fido is as fit as a fiddle and you are keen on clocking up the steps on your Fitbit, then this is one of our favourite dog walks. Travel just five miles from the centre and you are in a glorious forest and gorse land. Here you are treated to views of Seaton Delaval Hall and you will pass the ruins of Starlight Castle. The National Trust has clearly marked paths and it’s a seven-mile trek there and back.
2. Walbottle Brickworks and Orchard
This nature reserve is a reclaimed piece of land that is one of the best dog walks Newcastle has to offer. Once a quarry and brickworks it is now a great space for off-lead frolicking for Fido or for chilled out canines. Calm strolls are okay too. There is a community orchard where fruit such as apples, plums and gooseberries can be picked at different times of the year.
3. Paddy Freeman’s Park
Located just three miles northeast of Newcastle’s city centre, it is a popular spot for pups and pooches. It has a boating lake and if you have small children there is a large play area too. If your pooch is partial to getting her paws wet, she won’t be disappointed and if you want to clock up some paw miles then there is a trail to nearby Jesmond Dene that takes about half an hour to walk.
4. Watergate Forest Park
It has forest, it’s hilly, there is parkland and even a lake, so your fur baby will be spoilt for choice in this idyllic setting in Gateshead, less than five miles from the city centre. Labs, Golden Retrievers, Poodles and spaniels will swoon once you reach the large lake where it’s leads-off and time to do some splashing. Mutts mad about mud will be in their element too along the dirt tracks of the park.
5. Blyth South Beach
If your fur baby has seadog aspirations, then take the seven-mile drive out of Newcastle to a stretch of coastline where he can run lead-free on the white sandy beach and in the gentle lapping waves. Past the main beach, there is a linked road leading to free car parking overlooking these dog-friendly sands. There are picnic spots and sometimes a coffee cart too.
The Best City Walks for Your Dogs
1. Leazes Park
For four-legged tykes who like taking it easy this 1000-step route is designed for them. The park, just an eight-minute stroll from the city centre, has pretty paths lined with trees and certain parts are unpaved ground. There is a lake here, too, and a café where you can sit on a bench admiring the view while Fido makes NBFs on the water’s edge.
2. Gosforth Central Park
If you haven’t the time nor the transport to travel, then take advantage of this seven-acre park that is mere steps away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. As the name implies, it is as close to a central dog-friendly green space as you are going to get. There are ornamental rose flowerbeds, a meadow and a pond providing habitat to a range of wildlife.
3. Jesmond Dene
If it’s leafy walks Lassie loves and you don’t want to travel too far to make her a happy hound, this beautiful green space will certainly get her tail wagging. Locals love this Victorian park with its three waterfalls. You can download a bird spotting sheet if for a tad of twitching. While you are online, you can also access the wide range of trails that this historic park provides.
Best Dog-Friendly Woodland Walks in Newcastle
1. Hedley Hall Gardens
This 231-acre site is a delight for dog walkers who are looking for a complete change of scenery. Run by the Woodland Trust, it has marked walkways that will take you through extensive broadleaved woodland where medieval farmsteads once stood. It is brimming with wildlife on its open grassland and wetlands. Rover can run free in the wildflower meadows and splash about in the babbling stream and ponds
2. Thornley Woods
One of our favourite walks takes you around the wood in Rowlands Gill near Gateshead.
Choose from a number of paths, or go for the sculpture trail that has a wood-carved otter and a red kite. Home to greater spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches and sparrowhawks it is a bird watcher’s heaven. You can extend your route to neighbouring Derwent Walk Country Park for riverside rambles with Rover.
3. Hamsterley Forest
This 5,000-acre forest hosts a number of trails that will give your waggy tail a good workout. There is the 4.5-mile walk through Spurls Valley passing waterfalls along the way, or the shorter 2.5-mile Bedburn Valley ancient woodland trail. The Three Becks option is a great paw-pleaser taking you through 4.5 miles of waterside beech trees that are especially stunning in autumn.
Country Park Walks
1. Rising Sun Country Park
It is 400 acres of footpaths and bridleways that are designed for dog walkers and cyclists alike. Different habitats exist here, such as grassland, woodland and wetland. The lake is designated as a Local Nature Reserve, so it is best to keep your keen-to-scamper canine on a lead. There is also a bird hide overlooking Swallow Pond and a visitor’s centre with a restaurant and exhibition room.
2. Plessey Woods Country Park
Popular with those who want to dog walk on the wild side, woodland, meadow and riverside are all crammed into this 100-acre space about six miles from Newcastle. It has a great visitor’s centre that provides information about the wildlife here. Incorporating a stretch of the River Blyth, you could see kingfishers, dippers and otters, as well as roe deer on the banks and red squirrels in the trees.
3. Walker Riverside Park
Situated on the banks of the River Tyne, you are likely to catch sight of wading birds and even grey seals. It is a 13-minute drive top from the city centre and boasts 75 acres of wildflower meadows, wood and grasslands, with a choice of trails for you and your four-legged friend. There are bird-watching hides where you can spot curlews, redshanks, common terns and kittiwakes.
Fancy a mini-break in Geordie land?
Holiday Cottages
For dog friendly Newcastle holiday cottages, it’s here, or you can try one of the many Newcastle dog friendly hot tub cottage holidays.
Luxury Log Cabins
Secluded and private more your thing? Check this quality list of dog friendly lodge accommodation in Newcastle.
LAST WORD
There are cafes and even restaurants in many of these idyllic spots in and around the city and there are also pet friendly days out in Newcastle. Despite being in a highly populated part of England, there are still a number of rentals that will accept dogs, and the area is rich in birdlife and flourishing fauna that provide hours of bliss for you and your buddy. This is one region where you will never have to look far for good places to walk dogs, and for you to see Mother Nature at its best.