Dog Friendly City Guide: Bristol, England

Bristol is a working harbour city that never quite let go of its countryside. The old docks run through the middle of it, lined with pubs that have stood for centuries, and the Avon Gorge cuts a green canyon along its western edge. On one side of that gorge sit the open grasslands of the Downs, on the other the woods of Leigh Woods and the deer park of Ashton Court, and Brunel's suspension bridge strings the two together. For a dog that means big open spaces within a short walk of the centre and a riverside path that runs all the way to Bath.

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. You need the right pet travel document, 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 easy way to Bristol, into Temple Meads. 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, they are not allowed on the seats, and they cannot go into buffet or restaurant cars.

Where to Stay

Compare them all on our ranked dog friendly hotels in Bristol.

Mercure Bristol North The Grange holds an A, the highest rank in the city. Most of its rooms take dogs, there is no weight limit, and up to two dogs can share a room. Your dog is welcome in the bar, the lounge and the garden, food and water bowls are provided and dog food is on sale, and dogs may be left alone in the room while you head out. The fee is £15 per pet, with no damage deposit.

Hotel du Vin Bristol holds a B, and suits a big dog or a pair. Most rooms take dogs, there is no weight or size limit, and two dogs can share. Dogs are welcome in the bar, on the terrace and in the garden, and the room comes with a dog bed, food and water bowls, free treats and poo bags, while the staff will point you to local walking routes. Dogs cannot be left alone in the room. The fee is £25 a night for one dog or £40 for two, with no deposit.

Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin holds a D, but its setting on Sion Hill in Clifton, on the lip of the gorge, is hard to beat, with the Downs and the suspension bridge on the doorstep. Dogs can join you in the bar and the lounge, there is a garden, and a dog bed and bowls are waiting in the room. Some rooms take dogs, up to two can share, and they cannot be left alone in the room. The fee is £25 a night, with no deposit.

Eat and Drink

The Cottage Inn sits on Baltic Wharf right on the water, a Butcombe pub whose own page says it is dog friendly throughout, inside on its wooden floors and out in a waterside beer garden with views across the harbour. The kitchen leans on fish and seafood alongside the pub classics.

The Royal Navy Volunteer has stood on King Street since 1673, a Grade II* listed pub opposite the Bristol Old Vic, and our index records it as a pub that welcomes dogs. It pours 36 lines of beer and cider from independent British breweries, serves proper pub food, and does a Sunday roast worth planning the day around.

The Old Duke, further along King Street, is the city's jazz and blues pub, with live music every night and free admission in a building from around 1775. Our index records that it welcomes dogs, so a well settled one can sit in for the music with a cider or an ale.

Boston Tea Party has several cafés across Bristol. Each café's page lists it as dog friendly, and the chain's own answer to the question is that four legged friends are very welcome, provided the paws stay on the floor. The Park Street café has outdoor seating halfway up the hill to Clifton, the Whiteladies Road café fills two floors on a street of independent shops, and the Gloucester Road café has tables outside.

Coffee#1 Clifton Down is handy on the way up to the Downs, in the Clifton Down shopping centre on Whiteladies Road. Its page lists a dog friendly area and outdoor seating, and it opens at half past seven on weekdays.

Walks and Parks

The Downs are where Bristol walks its dogs. Clifton Down and Durdham Down together make a great sweep of grassland north of the centre, free and open at all times, running right to the edge of the Avon Gorge. Along the way you pass Clifton Observatory, the Iron Age hillfort of Clifton Down Camp and a Roman road, with the Sea Walls viewpoint looking straight down the gorge. Visit Bristol puts the Downs at about 440 acres and notes that the café by the water tower puts out water bowls.

Ashton Court Estate is the council's country park across the river, 850 acres of woodland and grassland that you can reach on foot from Clifton by crossing the Clifton Suspension Bridge, free for anyone on foot. Its deer park is more than 600 years old and holds around 200 red and fallow deer. There are two cafés on the estate.

Leigh Woods sits next door on the same side of the gorge, a woodland whose unusual wildlife comes from its position on the edge of the Avon Gorge. A network of tracks runs through it, including a red walking trail past the enclosed coppice plots, and Forestry England asks that dogs stay in sight and on the main paths to protect the wildlife.

The River Avon Trail is the long walk, about 23 miles from Pill in North Somerset to Pulteney Bridge in Bath, managed by the Avon Frome Partnership. It runs right under the suspension bridge, so even a short stretch out of the harbour along the foot of the gorge makes a fine level walk.

Blaise Castle Estate in the north west of the city is 650 acres of Grade II* registered parkland with a museum, a castle and a café, always open and free. Visit Bristol singles out its wooded gorge and brook as perfect for dogs to splash in.

Oldbury Court Estate and Snuff Mills, in the east of the city, follow the River Frome through woods and parkland, with riverside paths, a café kiosk by the play park and a tea hut at Snuff Mills. The Frome Valley Walkway runs through, and Visit Bristol notes that there are both on lead and off lead areas for dogs.

A Day Out

Start with coffee at Boston Tea Party on Park Street, then climb through Clifton to the Downs and let the dog run on the grass before the Sea Walls viewpoint. Walk across the suspension bridge into Leigh Woods, loop round on the red trail and carry on into Ashton Court for a look at the deer, on a short lead. Finish at the harbour with a pint in the waterside garden at The Cottage Inn, then supper at The Royal Navy Volunteer and jazz at The Old Duke. On a second day, follow the River Avon Trail along the foot of the gorge, or head out to Blaise Castle for the woods and the brook.

Good to Know

Bristol City Council's dog control order covers all open public land in the city, runs to December 2026, and the council has proposed renewing it for another three years. Under it you must pick up after your dog everywhere, dogs are excluded from enclosed children's play areas, and dogs must be kept on a lead on any land with public access except the parks and open spaces listed in the order's schedule, which is where you may let yours off: the Downs, Blaise Castle Estate, Oldbury Court and Snuff Mills are all on that list. An authorised council officer can direct you to put your dog on a lead anywhere. Ashton Court and Leigh Woods are not on the city's list and have rules of their own. Forestry England asks for dogs in sight and on the main paths at Leigh Woods. At Ashton Court, keep your dog on a short lead and to the paths if you walk through a deer enclosure, since you could face prosecution if it chases deer, and keep out of the roped conservation zone that goes up on the plateau near the golf course each summer, with dogs on a short lead nearby. Keep your dog on a lead by the estate's 15 heritage ponds too, where blue-green algae blooms in warm weather and is a hazard to dogs, and wash it as soon as you can if it has been in.