The Goyt Valley provides a great mixture of places for your dog to have some exercise. However, you need to be aware of the Countryside Code and ensure that if you are entering Open access land between the 1st March and 31st July you must ensure that your dog is kept on a short lead to protect ground nesting birds.
One of our favourite gentle walks is around Fernilee reservoir. There is limited parking in this area, but I have indicated 3 places on the map below, where you can park. If you use the zoom control on the map, you will notice that there are two access points from the A5004 (Long Hill) to Fernilee reservoir (one to the south of the reservoir and one to the north of the reservoir – both on the right hand side as you look at the map). At the southerly access there is only space for 3 or 4 cars, but at the northerly access point, there is space for a few more, as you can park along the access road itself.
The Walk
Basically you can start at either end of the reservoir and walk either clock wise or anti clockwise around the reservoir. You will see from the map, that there is a wooded area on the left of the reservoir (as you look at the map) and this has a lovely waterside path that you can follow. Alternatively you can start at the top end of the reservoir and walk down the wide stoned path towards Errwood reservoir, which is the start of the water that you can see on the map.
Tip: On a rainy day, it is much more sheltered walking through the wooded section, so you could just do a linear walk there and back on that side of the reservoir, should you choose to do so.
This is a very popular walk for dog walkers and other walkers, so your dog will have lots of opportunities to socialise with dogs and other people.
Pub nearby
The Shady Oak (Fernilee) this is a little bit further along Long Hill and is very dog friendly.
