UK Dog Walking Guide: Wales

The next stop on the Natural Cornish Pet whistle-stop tour of the UK is wonderful Wales. Just over the Bristol Channel from our base in Cornwall, Wales is one of the best places in Britain to enjoy the great outdoors, with its majestic mountains, rolling hills, awe-inspiring valleys and spectacular coastlines, it really does have it all. 

Wales is made up of eight counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Powys, Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan. Two-thirds of the population lives in the south of the country, which is host to the three biggest cities in Wales; Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. The south is also home to some of the most beautiful beaches in Britain, with cavernous cliff faces, that need to be seen to believed, and some of the best surf Great Britain has to offer. The north, conversely, is home to the mountains, with Snowdonia National Park and the Clwydian Range showing off their enormity and breathtaking sceneries in abundance. 

Wherever you are in Wales, you’ll never be far from something spectacular to enjoy whilst adventuring with your dogs and we are here to show you some of our favourites. So next time you're crossing the border or taking a trip, to somewhere local to your Welsh home, you and your dogs will know exactly where to begin. 

South Wales 

Finding beaches with space to roam free isn't exactly hard in Wales, but if you want a truly unspoilt experience, get your walking boots ready for the short hike to Pink Bay in Porthcawl. After a fifteen-minute walk from Rest bay along a wooden boardwalk, you will be greeted by a steep pebble bank that is comprised of beautifully unique rocks that have a pink marbling effect in the sunlight, giving the bay its name. The beach is dog-friendly all year round and offers stunning views as well as some pretty good exhibitions of surfing on the right day.

Plan Your Visit to Pink Bay Here>

The Brecon Beacons National Park is made up of four ranges of hills and mountains in South Wales and is a superb place to stretch the legs of our more adventurous furry friends. Located in the central Brecon Beacons is the lovely Talybont Reservoir and Talybont Forest, which boast stunning panoramas across the gorgeous Welsh hills as well as waterside tranquillity, stunning waterfalls and mystical woodlands. The walk around the reservoir is fairly easy going but you can challenge yourself, and your dogs, with the climb to Tor y Foel and get rewarded by some fabulous views across the Brecons.

Mid Wales

Offas Dyke in Mid Wales was built in the 8th century by King Offa to divide his Kingdom of Murcia from others to the west. Today this ancient monument is followed by and shares its name with the famous Offas Dyke Path. This fabulous footpath is over 150 miles long and links Chepstow, on the banks of the Severn, with the coast at Prestatyn, on the Irish sea. The trail offers a range of different terrains for you and your dogs to explore but can get difficult in places where it gets hilly and mountainous, so it’s always good to be prepared with the right information before you leave for your adventures at Offas Dyke. Offas Dyke Path is a National Trail and as such is very clearly marked and there is a lot of information about the walks in this area on the National Trails website. 

North Wales

Home to the absolutely awe-inspiring Snowdonia National Park as well as many other breathtaking outdoor spaces, North Wales has to be one of the most beautiful places in the UK. Boasting the tallest mountain and the largest natural lake in Wales, as well as over 800 square miles of beautifully diverse landscapes and natural beauty, Snowdonia is like a little slice of heaven on earth. 

Snowdonia has a great network of walks for all abilities from scaling the dizzying heights of Snowdon, to a leisurely walk on a gently undulating coastline, whoever the walker, Snowdonia National Park can accommodate. On the Snowdonia National Park website, there are a veritable plethora of guided walks as well as an app that can help guide you safely through the walk up and down Snowdon too. There's so much to see and do in Snowdonia National Park you’ll need more than one day, and probably several visits, to cover even a small cross-section of what it has to offer. 

Whether is magnificent mountains, stately castles, white sand beaches or ancient Celtic woodland you and your dogs are looking for, get yourselves to North Wales and you’ll have yourself an adventure of a lifetime.

Plan Your Trip to Superb Snowdonia Here>

So, when it comes to variety and magnificence Wales is top of the ladder, for me. There aren't many places in England that can offer more diversity in beauty and the sheer volume of natural wonders to wander around in with our canine companions than Wales can. I think I might even have to book a dog-friendly getaway of my very own, so I can immerse myself, once again, into wonderful Wales!