Dog Friendly City Guide: Bath, England

Bath is a city built for strolling, and a dog makes the perfect excuse to do more of it. The honey coloured crescents and terraces climb the sides of a green bowl in the hills, so wherever you stand in the centre there is a park, a towpath or a meadow within a short walk. The National Trust looks after the hills that ring the city, and the Kennet and Avon Canal runs straight through its Georgian pleasure gardens.

Getting There With a Dog

Arriving from abroad, your dog has to meet the Great Britain rules set out on the government's bringing your pet to Great Britain pages. It must be microchipped before, or at the same time as, its rabies vaccination, and you must wait at least 21 full days after the first vaccination before travelling. Your vet issues the right pet travel document for the country you are coming from, and a vet must give your dog a tapeworm treatment no less than 24 hours and no more than five days before you arrive. Pets must come in on an approved route, and getting any of this wrong can mean up to four months in quarantine.

Once you are in the country, the train is the easiest way in, to Bath Spa station a stone's throw from the Roman Baths. Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel you may take up to two dogs with you free of charge. They must stay on a lead for the whole journey, station included, and they are not allowed on the seats.

Where to Stay

Compare all four on our ranked dog friendly hotels in Bath.

The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa holds a B. Its dog friendly rooms open straight onto a courtyard or the hotel's acre of gardens. Dogs are welcome in most of the public areas on a lead, including the terrace and the lounge, the room comes with a dog bed and bowls, treats are free, and there is no weight limit. Up to two dogs can share a room, and dog sitting can be arranged.

Abbey Hotel Bath also holds a B. Most of its rooms take dogs, and your dog can come with you to the bar, the restaurant, the terrace, the lounge and the garden. Bowls and free treats are waiting, there is no weight limit, and on Sundays there is a doggy roast for £5. The fee is £10 a stay.

Bailbrook House Hotel, another B, suits a bigger dog or a pair, with green spaces and parks close by for walks. There is a dedicated dog space, a proper dog bed, real bowls and free treats, the team will suggest walking routes, and up to two dogs can share a room with no weight limit. Dogs are welcome in the bar, the lounge, on the terrace and in the garden, and they may be left alone in the room if you need to step out.

No 15 by GuestHouse holds a C. The staff make a real fuss of dogs, the room has a blanket bed, a water bowl and a box of treats, dogs are welcome in the bar and public areas, and up to two dogs can share a room with no weight limit. Dogs may be left alone in the room here too.

Eat and Drink

The Huntsman is a Fuller's pub that claims the oldest façade in Bath, and its own page lists it as dog friendly, with a real fire and comfy sofas. It serves refined pub classics, craft beer and cask ale, and opens at ten in the morning.

Hall & Woodhouse Bath sits next door to the Jane Austen Centre and spreads over four floors, with a roof terrace looking out over the city. Its dog friendly room is the Pantry, which the pub recommends for leisurely lunches and family meals, with a brunch menu and a Sunday roast.

Boston Tea Party has two cafés in Bath, and both list themselves as dog friendly. The Alfred Street café fills a light, Grade II listed building under an atrium ceiling near the Royal Crescent. The Kingsmead Square café has tables outside on a square famous for its buskers, close to Bath Spa station. The chain's own answer to the dog question is simple: four legged friends are very welcome, just keep the paws on the floor.

Coffee#1 sits on the ground floor of the Riverside complex with views of the river, and its page lists a dog friendly area and outdoor seating. It opens at seven on weekdays.

The Griffin Inn is a Georgian inn just off Queen Square that has been pouring pints for nearly three hundred years. It serves real ale, a seasonal menu with meat from Larkhall butchers and a Sunday roast. Its own site is silent on dogs, but our index records it as a pub that welcomes them, so ring ahead if you want to be sure.

Walks and Parks

The Bath Skyline is the walk to plan a day around. The National Trust's circuit of meadows, woods and farmland on the hills above the city gives spectacular views over the surrounding countryside, and dogs are welcome all year round. Parts of it are grazed by sheep and cattle to protect the wildflower grassland, so watch for the signs, keep your dog close and in sight around Rainbow Wood Farm, and put it on a lead through Larch Wood and the Woodland Play Area.

Prior Park Landscape Garden lies on a steep hillside just south of the centre and joins the Skyline, so the two make a full day together. The circuit of the garden takes about 45 minutes and passes the three lakes by the Palladian Bridge. Dogs on a short lead are welcome throughout the garden, at visitor reception and in the Tea Cabin area, where water bowls are left out.

The Kennet and Avon Canal is the level walk in a hilly city. The Canal & River Trust's two mile circular route from Darlington Wharf takes in Sydney Gardens, Cleveland House and the pumphouse chimney, passes the Holburne Museum and Pulteney Bridge, and can be started at any point along the way.

Sydney Gardens, at the end of Great Pulteney Street, date from 1795 and are among the most extensive Georgian pleasure gardens left in Britain. Jane Austen lived for several years next door in Sydney Place. The gardens hold woodland, waterside walks, white Chinoiserie bridges and a Temple of Minerva, and Visit Bath recommends them as the way onto the towpath with a dog.

Royal Victoria Park is the big open space a stone's throw from the centre, 57 acres of grass below the Royal Crescent with plenty of room for a game of fetch, botanic gardens from its days as an arboretum and the Pavilion Café for a coffee afterwards.

Alexandra Park is the city's lookout. It crowns a wooded hilltop above the city, 11 acres of grass with a tarmac path round the edge and a viewpoint with a map naming the city below. Visit Bath lists it among the city's dog walks.

A Day Out

Start with coffee at Coffee#1 by the river, then follow the canal from Widcombe through Sydney Gardens to Darlington Wharf. Walk back down Great Pulteney Street into the centre for lunch in the Pantry at Hall & Woodhouse, then climb to the Royal Crescent and let the dog run in Royal Victoria Park below it. Finish with a pint by the fire at The Huntsman. On a second day, walk Prior Park, carry on up onto the Bath Skyline, and come down for supper at The Griffin.

Good to Know

On the Bath Skyline, Richens Orchard closes to walkers while sheep are grazing, with a diversion to follow. If cattle follow you in a grazed field, the National Trust's advice is to let go of the lead and call your dog back when it is safe. At Prior Park, dogs are kept out of the Pasture while cattle graze it, for a few weeks at a time between April and November, and they may not swim in any of the lakes. On the canal, the Canal & River Trust asks you to keep your dog on a short lead around locks and bridges, to make sure it wears a collar with an ID tag, to pick up after it, and not to let it swim. At The Royal Crescent, only a limited number of rooms take dogs, so book early. The fee there is £50 per pet per stay and dogs may not be left alone in the room. At Abbey Hotel Bath, pack your dog's own bed, and dogs may not be left alone in the room. At Bailbrook House, only some rooms take dogs, dogs stay out of the restaurant, and the fee is £20 a night. At No 15, dogs stay out of the restaurant and off the terrace, and the fee is £25 a night.