Visiting Stourhead 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.

Stourhead is a two pawprint rated place.

These places have water bowls, dog bins and dog-friendly walks. You’ll be able to take your dog into some areas, but not everywhere. If there’s a food and beverage outlet, you can have a cup of tea with them, probably outside. Read on to discover exactly where you can take your dog.

Where can my dog go at Stourhead?

Dogs are welcome across the garden and wider estate at Stourhead. They can also be taken inside the shop, restaurant, visitor reception area, top courtyard and the Spread Eagle courtyard. Only assistance dogs are permitted inside the house and garden buildings.

There are four great walks around the Stourhead estate that are ideal to explore with your dog all year round. These take between one and three hours to complete. For more information, speak to a member of the visitor welcome team.

What facilities are available for dogs?

There are water bowls in the top courtyard by the restaurant, and plenty of bins for dog waste around the grounds.

Don’t forget to visit the National Trust shop, where you’ll find a great range of products for dogs, including leather collars, leads, toys and treats.

What do I need to be aware of?

There are lots of farm animals on Stourhead's wider estate, so we ask dog owners to keep their dog on a short lead.

You are also advised not to leave your pet in the car, as the car park offers limited shade.

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

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