Visiting Crom 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.

Crom 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. 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 Crom?

Crom is dog friendly. Dogs are welcome along the trails and in the Visitor Centre with the exception of the tea-room.

There are great walks around Crom estate that are ideal to explore with your dog. These take between thirty minutes to two hours to complete. For more information, speak to a member of the visitor welcome team.

While visiting we ask that visitors keep their dogs on a lead and under effective control during their visit to Crom, the site offers dog walkers ample opportunity to stretch your legs with wandering trails across the estate that offer stunning views over Lough Erne and a chance to escape into nature.

What facilities are available for dogs?

Water bowls are positioned near visitor reception, a dog wash station is located near the toilets in the main visitor car park and dog waste bins are provided.

Dogs must be kept on a lead at all times around the visitor centre area. We ask that all visitors keep to the disignated paths. This helps us look after the site and its wildlife.

What do I need to be aware of?

Crom has many areas of special scientific interest and we understand that in a vast open space like Crom you may want to let your dog off lead but we ask that dogs are kept on a lead and under effective control during their visit to Crom for a number of reasons.

• Crom is a mosaic of unique, delicate ecosystems that are home to a range of wildlife
• Dogs can disturb the habitats of several special and protected species when allowed to walk off lead

• Fallow deer, sheep, cattle and ponies graze Crom year round and can be spooked by dogs off leads

• Not everyone is comfortable with dogs, and not every dog is comfortable around other dogs on or off lead, keeping your dog on a lead means you are in control and it keeps you, your dog and other visitors safe.

Please speak to the visitor welcome team if you require any more information.

Dogs welcome

We have several dog friendly cottages available at Crom. Get away for a staycation the whole family and your canine companion can enjoy, our furry guests even get their own welcome box, courtesy of our partners at Forthglade.

Our campsite is also dog friendly and you can bring up to two dogs to stay in your tent or in one of our dog friendly glamping pods.

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