Visiting Chartwell 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.

Chartwell is a three pawprint rated place.

Three pawprints shows the very best places you can visit for a day with your dog. You’ll be able to take your dog to most areas, including indoors for a cup of tea and a treat. There’ll be clearly signed dog zones and dog-friendly experiences. Read on to discover exactly where you can take your dog.

Where can my dog go at Chartwell?

Dogs are welcome in all outdoor areas at Chartwell, please keep your dog on a short lead throughout the garden.

When there is no livestock on the wider estate, you can allow your dog off the lead under close control. The wider estate includes the fields and woodlands which sit outside of the formal gardens, ponds and lakes.

Should you wish to visit the Landemare Café, dogs are welcome in Lady Soames Room which adjoins the café and is accessed via a side door. There is also plenty of outside seating where you and your dog can enjoy refreshments. Please leave your dog accompanied outside or in Lady Soames Room when ordering.

What facilities are available for dogs?

Water bowls can be found outside the Landemare Café and Visitor Centre when your dog needs a drink.

If you run out of dog bags, the Visitor Centre is happy to supply you with bags so you can pick up after your dog. There are two dog waste bins, one by the Visitor Centre and the other in the car park. Thank you for helping to keep the garden and estate clean for everyone to enjoy.

What do I need to be aware of?

Assistance dogs only are welcome in the house and shop. Please don't leave your dog unattended. There are many benches in the garden where you can wait with your dog while other members of your party visit the house.

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