Visiting Buckland Abbey with your dog

Our pawprint rating system

We’ve been working on making it easier for you to find out how dog-friendly your visit will be before you and your four-legged friend arrive. To help with this, we've created a new pawprint rating system and given all the places in our care a rating. You can find this information in the National Trust members’ handbook.

Buckland Abbey is a one pawprint rated place.

Dogs are able to stretch their legs in the car park and estate walks, as well as some areas of the garden. Read on to discover exactly where you can take your dog.

Where can my dog go?

There are acres of countryside to explore at Buckland Abbey and lots of dog-friendly walks. The popular Red woodland walk is a great place to start; for a shorter walk, the Yellow route is ideal.

The Blue route is a good option for those looking to stretch their legs with a longer and more challenging walk.

Dogs are welcome in the Ox Yard Café, shop and visitor facilities. They can be taken into the Abbey garden and Cider House garden on a short lead. Unfortunately they cannot access the kitchen garden.

Please keep dogs on a lead and under close control at all times, and never leave your dog alone in a car on a hot day.

Assistance dogs

Only assistance dogs are permitted inside the Abbey.

What facilities are there for my dog?

Dogs can drink clean water from bowls outside the toilet blocks, visitor welcome, café and car park.

There are dog waste bins by the start of the estate walks, near the cart pond.

We've partnered with natural pet food maker Forthglade on the Dogs Welcome project, helping you and your dog get even more out of the special places we care for.

The Canine Code

We’ve worked with our partner Forthglade to come up with this Canine Code, which helps to make sure everyone can enjoy their day:

• Keep them close: using a short lead helps to keep your dog from disturbing ground-nesting birds and farm animals. It's essential to use a short lead around sheep. But if cattle approach you, it's best to let your dog off the lead, and call them back when it's safe to do so.
• Pick up the poo: please always clear up after your dog. If you can't find a bin nearby, take the poo bags home with you.
• Watch the signs: keep an eye on local signs and notices wherever you're walking. They'll tell you if a beach has a dog ban, for instance, or if a path has been diverted, or if you're in an area where dogs can run off-lead.
• Stay on the ball: remember that not everyone loves dogs, and some people fear them. So make sure your dog doesn't run up to other people, especially children.

Keeping control of your dog

Our definition of close or effective control is: ​

• Being able to recall your dogs in any situation at the first call
• Being able to clearly see your dog at all times (not just knowing they have gone into the undergrowth or over the crest of the hill). In practice, this means keeping them on a footpath if the surrounding vegetation is too dense for your dog to be visible
• Not allowing them to approach other visitors without their consent
• Having a lead with you to use if you encounter livestock or wildlife, or if you are asked to use one