Visiting Cheddar Gorge with your dog

Dog relaxing in fallen leaves at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire — Explore Cheddar Gorge with your dog | © National Trust Images / Annapurna Mellor

Dogs are welcome at Cheddar Gorge all year round, and there are plenty of places to take them while you're visiting. Please help keep Cheddar Gorge enjoyable for everyone by keeping your dog on a lead, cleaning up after them and following the guidance below.

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.

Cheddar Gorge is a one pawprint rated place.

Dogs are welcome here, but facilities are limited. They’ll be able to stretch their legs and walk on a lead. Read on to discover exactly where you can take your dog.

Where can my dog go at Cheddar Gorge?

Dogs are welcome in the Cheddar Gorge landscape but they must be kept on a lead due to the steep cliffs.

The Gorge Walk is great to explore with your dog all year round. It is a long and hilly route so may not be suitable for smaller or older dogs.

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