Visiting Spyway with your dog

Two dogs on their leads stood on top a rock next to their owners — Dogs at Spyway | © National Trust Images / Chris Lacey

Explore this world-famous coastline, Site of Special Scientific Interest and it's huge variety of rare flora and fauna with your four-legged friend. Cattle graze here and ground-nesting birds lay their eggs in the heath from March to July, but well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome at Spyway all year round.

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.

Spyway is a one pawprint rated place.

Dogs are welcome here, but facilities are limited. They’ll be able to stretch their legs in the car park and walk in the nearby open spaces, depending on the season.

Keep dogs on leads and under close control

Please be aware of the sheer cliff edges, grazing cattle, ground-nesting birds and rare flora and fauna that live in this protected landscape. Dogs must be kept on a lead and under close control at all times around livestock, and at all times during ground nesting bird season (1 March – 31 July).

Where can my dog go at Spyway?

Spyway acts as a gateway to a stretch of world-famous coastline and its surrounding countryside. Well-behaved dogs on leads and kept under close control are welcome all year round on your visit to Spyway.

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