Dog walking destinations: It’s a walkie in the park for these dogs

SCOTLAND’S most popular dog walking destinations can be revealed today, with each of them garnering thousands of views online.

castle

Some of the most popular walks for dogs include Castle Fraser (Image: NC)

Our research suggests Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and Queen Elizabeth Forest Park in Stirlingshire are among highlights for dog lovers. The bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, the woods around Dunkeld in Perthshire and the forests and beaches of Fife are also popular. We contacted five experts who offer dog walking routes on their websites to ask which ones had the most hits from the public.

The top 10 from Walkiees – a UK-wide resource offering hundreds of walks and based in the New Forest, Hampshire – features six Fife walks. 

Heatherhall Wood near Ladybank came out on top with more than 21,000 page views since it was added four years ago. The website also has walks in Queen Elizabeth Forest near Aberfoyle – Loch Ard and David Marshall Lodge – with more than 22,000 hits combined. 

This beautiful woodland in the Trossachs – founded to mark the Coronation in 1953 – also features highly on the most popular walks on Forestry and Land Scotland’s web- site. However, the quango said its most popular walking route was at Sallochy by Loch Lomond. 

With 63,733 page views, it finished just ahead of Glentress in Peeblesshire and Kirroughtree in Wigtownshire (both popular with mountain bikers and dog walkers). 

However, even that figure is dwarfed by the 382,608 visitors who called at Culzean Castle, the National Trust for Scotland’s spectacular property near Maybole. 

Of course, not all of those visitors would have taken their dog but the Trust has waymarked trails for dog walkers called Dolphin, Lion, Monkey and Swan. 

Holly, a two-year-old Irish Terrier belonging to Mark Bishop, the Trust’s director of customer & cause, selected Newhailes near Musselburgh (68,360 visitors last year) as her favourite walk.

torridon

Torridon is among the best destinations (Image: NC)

Holly told us: “There’s all sorts of interesting smells and trees and I can snuffle my way to the enchanting shell grotto nestled in the grounds. What’s more, it’s really easy to keep control of Mark and I never lose sight of him!” 

Tourism agency VisitScotland supplied a top 10 chosen by ‘Ambassadog’ George the golden retriever, who has been the country’s canine ambassador since 2016. 

He named Luss by Loch Lomond as his favourite walk, as well as Tomich in Strathglass, which has a statue of one of the original golden retrievers in the centre of the village. 

A VisitScotland spokeswoman added: “Also, it’s worth noting that owners and their dogs have the right to walk almost anywhere in Scotland, so long as they stick to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.” 

Rhian Matthews, from Edinburgh, started her Dugs n’ Pubs website in 2009 as she wanted to find places to visit with her Lhasa Apso, Baillie. 

It has thousands of members and lists dog-friendly businesses all over the UK. The website includes dozens of walks in Scotland, with beaches proving “the most popular by far”. 

North Berwick in East Lothian has had the most hits from her members, followed by the Hermitage at Dunkeld (with a route including the dog-friendly Taybank Inn).

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