The home of Dog Friendly Holidays, Accommodation, Hotels, Holiday Cottages, Walks and Beaches in the UK.

Focus Scotland: Highland High

If you're tempted to try Scotland for a holiday but aren't sure where to start then the Badenoch and Strathspey region of the Highlands, close to Aviemore, certainly comes highly recommended. The Scottish Highlands are a Mecca for the outdoor enthusiast, whether your passion is for walking, skiing, mountaineering, watching the wildlife or mountain biking, you'll find it here.

Mountain bikers should head for the Strathmashie Forest and the Laggan Wolf Trax Centre, an area set up by the Forestry Commission with a variety of graded trails all starting at Basecamp MTB near Loch Laggan.

If it's walking that appeals then you'll be hard pushed to decide which trails to walk and mountains to tackle on your visit. The Wild Cat Trail around and up into the hills above the village of Newtonmore is definitely worth a place on your "To Do" list. The circuit can be completed in one long walk or divided up into six shorter (approximately one hour) walks but either way the scenery is 360 degrees of stunning mountaintops and blissful solitude. There are several walks which inter-connect with the Wild Cat Trail so you can pick and choose as you wish depending on how energetic you feel and how kind the weather is to you.

The Forestry Commission's Glenmore Forest Park with its shop, café, visitor centre and a wide range of trails to suit all ages and abilities sits at the foot of Cairn Gorm Mountain itself and is a paradise for walkers.

Instead of taking the easy route (i.e. driving) up to the base station ski area on Cairn Gorm you can opt to walk, following the Allt Mor Trail up to where the ski lifts start, the funicular railway ferries people to the mountain top and the serious walkers and climbers begin the big ascent to the 1245 metre summit. The Allt Mor Trail is well worth the steady climb, upon reaching the ski area perched hundreds of metres up in the Cairngorm Mountains there are impressive views all-round, including one downhill to the nearby Loch Morlich.

In the Scottish Highlands the mountains, forests and lochs open up endless possibilities for hiking and outdoor pursuits. The fact that it feels as though you've escaped to another world and a more laidback pace of life is simply a bonus and the changeable weather, well - that's just part of the charm.


Find Out More…
Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board www.visithighlands.com
Cairngorm Mountain Tel: 01479 861261 or visit: www.cairngormmountain.org

For cottages in Scotland click here
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Focus On Scotland's Dog Friendly Dumfries & Galloway

Situated in the south west of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway is home to amazing scenery that includes forests, woods, lochs, hills and beaches - and it's a pretty well-kept secret just how stunning and how dog friendly this part of Scotland is.

Plus 2 Dogs visited the area in March and had brilliant spring sunshine, blue sky and warm days for the whole week. So, where to go in Dumfries & Galloway that's dog friendly? Well, most places actually! Most of the locals seemed to have dogs and everyone seemed very dog friendly; here are the Plus 2 Dogs top recommendations:

Walks

Galloway Forest - Britain's largest forest park has 300 square miles to explore. The three focal points are the Forestry Commission's visitor centres at Kirroughtree, Glentrool and Clatteringhsaws with loads of walks and trails starting from these points all of which are dog friendly.

Plus 2 Dogs explored the walks from Kirroughtree near Newton Stewart and especially recommends:

• Bruntis Trail - approx. 1 to 1 and a half hours walk, this trail includes the refreshing Bruntis Loch which dogs can take a swim or paddle in
• Lade Walk - approx. 1 hour ramble through the forest
• Viewpoint Trail - approx. 1 and a half hours walk
• Larg Hill Trail - approx. 2 and a half hours walk

Gatehouse of Fleet & Cally Woods - just on the edge of pretty Gatehouse of Fleet you'll find the Forestry Commission's Cally Woods which have various way marked routes you can follow or you can just explore the woodland. Make a half day of it by walking from the woods to the Cally Palace Hotel, pass the hotel and on along a farm track to eventually come to the beach at Sandgreen - Plus 2 Dogs took this option and the walk was about 3 and a half hours with some amazing views along the route.


Cairnsmore of Fleet - high in the stunning hills above Gatehouse of Fleet you'll find the Cairnsmore of Fleet Nature Reserve. Dogs are welcome on the trail which starts from the visitor centre; Plus 2 Dogs ventured a little further afield and continued from the trail on to one of the Forestry Commission's forest tracks for a longer stroll.


Excellent dog friendly beaches in Dumfries & Galloway include:

• Brighouse Bay near Kirkcudbright (one of our favourites)
• Ross Bay near Kirkcudbright
• Sandgreen Bay near Cally Woods and Gatehouse of Fleet.

Places to visit with your dogs:

• Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate, Thornhill, Galloway Forest
• Dunskey Estate Walled Garden, Stranraer

For details on dog friendly cottages in Scotland click here
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Focus On Dog Friendly Scottish Borders

Southern Scotland has much to offer when it comes to dog friendly holidays - see also our separate travel guide on the Dumfries & Galloway region - and the Scottish Borders are packed with stunning countryside, hills, extensive forests and country estates as well as great coast.

Here's the Plus 2 Dogs top picks for a dog friendly holiday in the Scottish Borders:

Walks

There are numerous forests in the Scottish Borders which are overseen by the Forestry Commission, collectively known as the Forests of the Scottish Borders, all of these offer excellent dog walking opportunities and many have way marked trails of varying lengths which you and your dogs can follow - from a short stroll of a mile or so through to long and strenuous walks involving some hills!

You may need to be aware that some of the forests are major mountain biking areas and offer separate routes for these, however there are some spots where walking and cycling routes overlap slightly - something to be mindful of when walking your dogs off lead; such parts of the forest are usually clearly signposted though so you know when to take extra care.

Dog friendly forests in the Borders include:

• Yair
• Glentress Forest
• Cardrona
• Craik
• Thornielee
• Newcastleton Forest
• Craik
• Innerleithen

You can find trail details for all of these forests via the Forestry Commission Scotland website

All -year-round dog friendly beaches in the Scottish Borders include:

• Coldingham - During the summer months -June to September - dogs can be taken onto the beach provided they are on a lead. For the rest of the year dogs can be exercised on the beach off the lead under close control.
• Eyemouth beach - no dog restrictions in force

Places to visit with your dogs:

• Floors Castle - dog welcome in grounds on lead

• Bowhill Estate - dogs welcome on estate walks on lead

• Mellerstain - dogs welcome in grounds on lead

• Hirsel Country Park - dogs welcome in grounds on lead

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