Dog-Friendly County Durham: Walks & Coast

County Durham packs three very different landscapes into one county. In the west, the North Pennines rise into Teesdale, where the River Tees drops over High Force (one of England's largest waterfalls by volume) - dramatic walking on the doorstep of open moorland. In the centre sits Hamsterley Forest, the county's biggest woodland, and in the east a former coal coast has been restored into the Durham Heritage Coast (a stretch of cliffs and beaches recovered from colliery spoil).

The rule to know concerns the high moors. Upper Teesdale's open moorland is mapped access land, so dogs must be on a lead of two metres or less from 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds, and on a lead near sheep year-round, under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act - see gov.uk's right-to-roam guidance. The forest, coast and city walks are easier-going by comparison.

The main restriction is on the open moorland of upper Teesdale, which is access land: dogs must be on a two-metre lead from 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds, and on a lead near sheep all year. At High Force the waterfall path is on-lead too. On the coast, the resort beaches at Seaham and Crimdon have summer dog bans on their central stretches, while the cliff-top path stays open year-round.

Hamsterley Forest allows off-lead walking under close control, and Durham city and Barnard Castle are on-lead by their nature as built-up areas. For the national rules on access-land dogs and beaches, see gov.uk.