We’ve just spent a  long weekend in London, visiting family and of course the dog came too! It usually takes us about 4 hours to make the drive down to Bromley which is South East of London. It’s a pretty straight forward drive, basically get onto the M1 and then head down to the M25 and round.  However, everyone needs to have a stretch of the legs, including the dog, so we always have to find a good place to stop. Motorway services don’t quite fit the bill, as very few of them have any decent places to take the dog, so instead, I always refer to my trusty little book, Walking the Dog – Motorway walks for drivers and dogs which I keep in the glove compartment of the car. This time, we found a particularly good walk, which I wanted to share with you. It is almost exactly halfway to London from the Peak District and can be found a few minutes off Junction 15 of the M1. The walk is in Salcey Forest and there are wonderful tracks and trails for both you and the dogs to wander along. We took a picnic and sat on logs in the woodland, while the dog happily raced around the woods, leaping over ditches and felled trees, constantly circling around us to make sure she knew where we were.

Salcey Forest also has a cafe and toilets, so it is a great countryside alternative to the usual motorway service station. There is a pay and display car park, which cost £1 for an hour, we found this was the perfect length of time to have a quick walk, picnic and use the facilities, before carrying on with our journey.

I would throughly recommend getting a copy of this book and keeping it in your car, as it gives lots of useful places where you can stop with your dog along many of the motorways in our country.

Black Rocks Cromford

Here are a few lovely dog walks that we have put together when you come up to the Peak District with your 4 legged friend!

Monyash Meander – a short 2 mile walk around the village of Monyash and surrounding dales. Finishing with a visit to either a dog friendly pub or cafe.

The Wild Rhubarb Walk – try some of the Monsal Trail, but then drop down to the riverside and enjoy the peace and tranquility and nature.

The Bakewell Loop – a fairly flat circular walk of about 3 miles, along parts of the Monsal Trail from Bakewell. Along the way you will pass Hassop Station which houses a coffee shop. There is space outside to sit undercover with your dog. Otherwise you need to find the dog friendly pubs and coffee shops in Bakewell itself.

The Cromford Canal and High Peak Incline  – a pleasant walk along the canal followed by an uphill climb along the High Peak trail and then drop back down into Cromford, where there are dog friendly pubs.

Black Rocks – is close to Cromford and is a great place to let your dog off lead. There are a choice of way marked paths you can follow.

All of the above walks allow your dog to be off the lead, there are other places that you can try some of which may require your dogs to be on the lead – particularly the National Trust walks – although some places are more lenient than others.

Finally there are Woodland walks which are usually offlead and offer your dog plenty of fun.

Hopefully one of these will take your fancy! Enjoy your walks.