Chief Sophie's 100 Walk Challenge

Last year, on 18th May 2019, I set my boys and I a challenge. I wanted us to do some more adventuring, so I decided we would visit 100 new locations within the year. I can’t tell you how much we have enjoyed it. Our dogs only get to experience what we allow them to, and whilst they are part of our lives, no matter how big a part they may be, we are their entire lives. We decide what their life is made of, and how they spend their days. Allowing them to visit new places is a gift only we can give them, and let’s be honest, they bloody deserve it don’t they! My boys have loved all the new sights and smells, and equally I have absolutely loved every minute. I think it’s very easy to get yourself into a set routine with your dog, visiting the same locations as it seems like much more of an effort to try somewhere new (I used to think exactly the same!). But when you do try a new place, there is so much to be rewarded with. Our country really is beautiful and there is loads to see out there. And hey, you might get lost once in a while, but that’s part of the fun isn’t it?! Why not try a few new spots with your dogosaur every month or so - take a few of mine for inspiration, or all of them, if you like!

Because of the Covid 19 outbreak, we didn’t make our cut off date of 18th May 2020, but we completed 99 walks by 31st May 2020 , and then we did number 100 on 19th September 2020. We were waiting for the restrictions to be lifted for the finale so we could share the walk, and a few drinks in our new home afterwards, with some friends. Since the restrictions are still in place, we weren’t able to do this. However, we were able to walk number 100 with our lovely friend who has showed us quite a few of the walks over the past year. Now we’ve got a taste for it, we will be continuing to explore new locations regularly. You can check up on our adventures on this blog, or on our Facebook page, where we have albums that show you the routes we have tried. You can also follow @thehunterdogs91 on Instagram if you like! For now, though, here is how our last year of adventuring went…

1 - Compton, Newbury, Berkshire - 18/05/2019

We found a brilliant App called All Trails just before we started this challenge, that showed us walking routes with instructions as well as a GPS locator to follow on your phone. We used this App a lot over the year, and for number 1 that’s exactly what we did. We headed over to Compton, a village about 20 minutes out of Newbury, for a 6 mile walk, starting in the village. There is plenty of roadside parking in the area, and once you are off the road, pretty much the entire route follows bridleways and footpaths, so plenty of off lead time for your dogosaur. The walk took us about 2 hours, and there weren’t any massive ascents as it was mostly fairly flat. There were a few sheep in adjacent fields but none that you have to walk through. If you want to give this one a bash, it’s on the App I mentioned, or there is a link here.

2 - Home Farm, Alton, Hampshire - 19/5/2019

We used the app again for this one, however you can take whatever route you fancy here. It’s a really lovely space, with both open fields and woodland sections. There are lots of very obvious footpaths to follow. There are cows in certain parts that are free roaming, but they seem to be quite used to visitors. Make sure you keep dogosaurs on lead if you see them though, just in case! There are a few car parks, you can find the South one easily enough by typing the location into Google.

3 - Pangbourne, Berkshire - 23/05/2019

This one is really lovely if the sun is out, which it was when we walked it. It has a few sections of road walking, including the beginning and end as you park in a town car park (make sure you take some change for a ticket). It follows the River Thames and then heads across some lovely meadows. All in all a lovely walk to do in the sunshine! If you’d like to try this one, the best thing to do is follow the route mapped out here.

4 - St Mary Bourne, Andover - 22/05/2019

This one was a shorter walk, starting and finishing in the free St Mary Bourne village car park, with a little village shop and playground right next to it. This is a really pretty little village, and if you like to look at the villages themselves it’s a lovely little walk. For us there was a bit too much road walking, I’d say about 30/40% of the walk was on the quiet country lanes. If you want to give it a go, you can find the full instructions here.

5 - Whitchurch, Hampshire - 23/05/2019

For number 5 we headed to Whitchurch. This one was a lovely countryside walk. A few little sections of road, and a few fields with sheep, cattle and horses in so please take care with your dogosaurs. Although this route does follow the River Test, there aren’t a great many spots for the dogs to have a dip so be sure to take plenty of water in the summer for both you and the pooch as it is just under 6 miles long with a few inclines as well. Aslan took it upon himself to dive head first into a section of water that was definitely not dog friendly, and had to be fished out by yours truly. Hence why he is rather soggy in the photo. But at least he cooled himself off! To try this one, click here.

6 - Sulham Woods, Berkshire - 5/6/2019

Sulham Woods is a gem that can be found just outside of Reading in Berkshire. Although we lived about half an hour away for a long time, we never ventured there until we started this challenge, and a friend suggested she show me and the boys around. We loved it, and were back quite a few times before we moved to Bristol in March 2020. There is thick woodland to explore, with a few large open grassy spaces and crop fields in between. We usually did an hour or so when we went (the times we didn’t get lost!), but you can easily do a bit longer if you wanted. There is a car park on Sulham Hill. Be careful getting your dogosaur out of the car though as it can be a fairly busy road with a blind corner near the car park.

7 - Aston, Berkshire - 8/6/2019

This was another walk showed to me by a friend who wanted to join me for part of our 100 walks challenge. A beautiful walk alongside the River Thames, then looping back through some woodland and back down a quiet country lane. We stopped at The Flowerpot Hotel for a spot of lunch before heading back to the van. You can park at the end of Ferry Lane (RG9) which is a dead end with free parking, with the footpath towards the river on the left. You can find the route here.

8 - Greywell and Mapledurwell, Hook, Hampshire - 9/6/2019

This was a 6 mile route round some lovely countryside near Hook, that we really loved. It was a mixture of open crop fields, and woody by-ways with minimal road walking. We picked a beautiful blue day to do this one, and we hardly saw anyone else whilst out walking. There may be cows on this route at certain times of the year. If you fancy giving it a go, check it out here.

9 - Blackwood Forest, Winchester, Hampshire - 12/6/2019

We found this one whilst we were on our way to a completely different route. We drove past the Forestry sign and pulled in to have a look. Our first go was a bit of a random, get a bit lost and confused, type of walk. We tried to follow the route markers but they are a bit confusing. We nailed it on our second attempt though, and went there a few times again after that. It’s a lovely woodland, with a holiday park in the centre (it can be a bit busier near that bit), with well made tracks and plenty of routes to take. Although some of the pathways can be a bit muddy in wet weather, this would probably be a suitable walk for wheelchairs and pushchairs in the dryer months. There is a free car park on your right as you pull in, the post code is SO21 3BG.

10 - Baddesley Common & Emer Bog, Romsey, Hampshire- 20/6/2019

This route takes you out near the New Forest, and as such has a few wild ponies en route. It follows mostly wooded tracks for just under 6 miles of walking, starting and finishing on a nearby street. There will probably also be various livestock in adjacent fields. You walk through a lovely nature reserve, though dogs are asked to be kept on lead for this section. If you want to give it a go, have a look here.

11 - Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Waterlooville, Hampshire - 21/6/2019

This is a large country park in Hampshire, consisting of mainly wooded tracks, although we did see a few footpaths leading off into the fields. We chose a 6 mile route and followed the way markers around the park. We hardly saw anyone on our route, though we did go on a Friday afternoon, so it may be a bit busier at weekends. The tracks would be great for cycling, and possibly suited for wheelchairs and pushchairs. There are toilet facilities and a little cafe that sells ice cream right next to the car park, as well as an information centre. There was also a pretty cool looking kids play area and picnic area en route. Parking charges do apply. The address is Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Gravel Hill, Horndean, Hampshire.

12 - Broomy & Linwood, New Forest, Hampshire - 22/6/2019

For 12 and 13, we took a day trip to The New Forest with a friend. Our first walk was a 5 and a half mile circular route from a remote car park that was surrounded by New Forest ponies. The walk was a typically lovely New Forest route, heading across the open moorland and along thick tracks in between trees. If you want to try it, click here for more information.

13 - Rockford Common, New Forest, Hampshire - 22/6/2019

After some well earned chips at a pub, we stumbled upon Rockford Common. This was another pretty area for a walk, and we spent about an hour here. Again, there were plenty of New Forest ponies about, and a fair few cows as well, but they were all very used to the pedestrians wandering around and paid no attention to us. If you want to give it a go, the postcode is BH24 3LZ, but I would say have something else lined up if you want a whole day in The New Forest, as this won’t keep you for hours.

14 - Durdle Door & Lulworth Cove, Dorset - 23/6/2019

This was another full dogosaur day out for us. We parked at Durdle Door, and walked over to Lulworth Cove. This is a really beautiful place, but it will be busy at peak times of the year as it’s a popular tourist destination. The beaches here are pebbly, and the sea is a beautiful colour in the sun! We hiked around the cliffs after lunch at one of the many pubs they have there, got a bit lost, then eventually found our way back down and walked back to the van! We didn’t see any livestock en route, and once you head up to the cliffs there are far fewer people as most people were staying to enjoy the beach. You can easily spend the day here, either wandering around and taking in the beautiful views, or sitting and having an ice cream on the beach.

15 - California Country Park, Wokingham, Berkshire - 24/6/2019

This one has a beautiful big lake that has plenty of ducks on. We did get a bit lost here and if we went again we would use our footpath app to find a good route. But the photo speaks for itself, it is very picturesque! The address for the park is California Country Park, Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead, Wokingham RG40 4HU.

16 - Padworth Common, Reading, Berkshire

This is a wooded area with its own free car park. The section we walked round wasn’t huge, but I think you can potentially cross the road and continue on the footpaths on the other side. We hadn’t worked out our footpath app too well by this stage, so we would definitely use that if we were to go back. If you’re in the area, it might be worth giving it a go! The postcode is RG7 4JB.

17 - Symonds Yat, Ross-on-Wye, Wales - 29/6/2019

This is a really beautiful area, the photo really doesn’t do it justice. We followed the river until we reached the wooden suspension bridge, crossed this and followed the river back on the other side. This was a family day trip and my very young nieces and nephew were with us so it took us a good few hours but if you were walking at a normal speed it wouldn’t be quite as long, perhaps you could extend the walk to further along the river. There were some good spots for the dogs to cool off, but some of the edges of the river would be a bit tricky so it’s not accessible the whole way round. We parked at Ye Old Ferrie Inn and had a few drinks there before our walk. The car park isn’t very big and did mean we had to wait a few minutes to park as we went on a hot Saturday in June. If you are going to do the same walk as us, then check with the pub before you leave what time the boat is running to, because, as we discovered, if it has stopped running there is no way back over. Luckily we were able to get hold of the pub and the lovely young man came to pull us back across so we didn’t have to walk all the way back round!

18 - Wargrave & Crazies Hill, Reading, Berkshire - 6/7/2019

This was another great route shown to me by a friend. We walked from Hamilton Road in Wargrave, and on to Crazies Hill across a great mix of footpaths - open fields and woodland. We stopped at the The Horns for a spot of lunch, then looped back round to the start. If you want to give it a go, check out the route here.

19 - Snuff Mills, Bristol - 7/7/2019

Way before I moved here, this was one of the first great dog walks I tried in the area. Snuff Mills is a lovely area alongside a river, where the dogs can splash and play to their hearts content. You can also link this walk to both Eastville Park and Oldbury Court, which are two other great areas for dogosaurs! This place does get mega busy in the nice weather. There is a free car park, the postcode is BS16 1UH.

20 - Pinsley Wood, Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire - 9/7/2019

This is a great little circular woodland walk. You can park for free outside the village church, which is directly opposite the village pub. The footpath is on the side next to the pub, and once you head in there, simply follow the wood round its edge in a loop that is just over 2 miles long. There are signs up in the woods saying that in very windy weather the branches may snap, so probably not the best idea to go in high winds. The postcode to the car park is OX29 8AB.

21 - Mattingley, Hook, Hampshire - 10/7/2019

This is a pretty 3 mile loop from The Leather Bottle pub in Mattingley, which has some really great food for a post walk meal. The car park is on a main road and you have to walk back onto this briefly to get to the footpath, so take care here with dogosaurs. This is a very pretty route with some lovely flowers in the summer, though there were quite a few sections of on lead walking - on the road, through private land, and through fields with livestock. If you want to give it a go, click here for more information.

22 - Lydiard Park, Swindon, Wiltshire - 14/7/2019

Lydiard Park is a large, pretty estate in Swindon. It has a huge car park (parking charges apply), but despite that, when we went we struggled to find a space as it was mega busy. There is a large area to have a picnic, and a big children’s play area. It is clearly a very popular spot in good weather and we saw hundreds of people walking round, particularly near the start where the amenities are. This walk will be mainly on lead due to restrictions, but it is a pretty spot if you are in the area, or fancy a day trip with the family. You can find more information on the park here.

23 - Lily Hill Park, Bracknell, Berkshire - 17/7/2019

This is a lovely, well kept park in the middle of a fairly busy residential area. There are tonnes of squirrels here, much to Sabre’s absolute joy. It also boasts Englands’' longest picnic bench, which you can see in the photo, and a few other cool wooden sculptures dotted about. It wasn’t too busy when we went (on a Wednesday afternoon), but I imagine it will be in peak times. There is a free car park, the postcode is RG12 2RX.

24 - Wantage & Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire - 28/7/2019

This is a 5 and a half mile route starting from a public car park in Wantage (parking charges may apply). It is a circular route that follows footpaths and by-ways, with a fair amount of road walking as well. There were a few pretty spots (including the one pictured), but all in all it wasn’t one of our favourites. If you want to try it for yourself though, click this link for more information.

25 - Binfield Heath, Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire 4/8/2019

This one we absolutely loved. We started at The Bottle & Glass Inn which has a fairly big car park, and headed onto the footpath that leads straight from the car park (clearly signed, to the right of the car park as you drive in). This heads into a brilliant big woodland, which we explored at our leisure before heading back to the pub for some pizza in the beer garden.

26 - Bourne Woods, Farnham, Surrey 10/8/19

This was another great walk. We took inspiration from this route on All Trails, but changed it slightly to do less road walking and avoid the cows! The route starts and finishes at The Spotted Cow pub which is a great little dog friendly pub with a very cosy atmosphere. Bourne Woods was so lovely, if we had lived closer we would have gone back there loads! There are a couple of small sections of road walking, and a steep section along a narrow footpath.

27 - Stanton Country Park - Swindon, Wiltshire 17/8/19

This one is brilliant. There is free parking, the site seems to be pretty big, there are woodland sections and open fields and a lovely big lake at the beginning. A really lovely walk for you and your dogosaur with plenty of off lead time. It wasn’t too busy when we went but I imagine it can be in summer as it’s such a lovely place. You can find more information here.

28 - Shaw Forest, Swindon, Wiltshire 18/8/19

Our third and final trip to Swindon for this challenge. This one is a bit smaller, but it has a lovely open field where your dogosaur might find some friends to play with if it’s a bit busier, and sections of woodland to walk round too. You could also extend your walk to walk into Swindon itself if you wanted to. The approximate post code to the car park is SN5 7EX. If you just type in Shaw Forest into your maps you might find it takes you to an industrial site, which it did for us!

29 - Pamber Forest, Tadley, Hampshire 19/8/19

We did this one a fair few times after discovering it. A really great, huge woodland for your dogosaur to get a good run. Sabre and Patch absolutely love it here (the woods being their favourite!). It does get pretty mucky in the winter, as with most woodland areas, but the paths are nice and dry in the summer. There are cows grazing here so take care with dogs around them. The best place I found to park was on Impstone Road which has a small car park that leads straight into the woods. Google maps took me to a little lane initially with nowhere to park. The address is Impstone Road, Pamber Heath, Tadley. I believe there are other car parks but this is the one we used every time.

30 - Vale of Pewsey, Pewsey, Wiltshire 21/8/19

This one was awesome. We followed the All Trails directions, starting from Pewsey Wharf, which did have parking charges when we went so take some change with you. This route starts out along the canal, then heads up quite a steep hill to some lush views, then back down again with mostly flat sections after the initial climb. There was one section along a very quiet road, and we had to walk through one sheep field, with a few more adjacent to the path. Pick a clear day for this one to get the most of it.

31 - Lambourn and Eastbury Down, Hungerford, Berkshire 22/8/19

Another great walk from All Trails, this one starts on Mill Lane with free parking along the road. There is a small bit of road walking to begin with, and then again at the end, but other than that this is entirely off road with no livestock. When we walked, we only saw one or two people in the 2.5 hours it took us to walk. Lambourn is very much horse country, and a lot of the tracks are bridleways so take care if you see any riders (we didn’t). I’d highly recommend this one, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

32 - Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, Wales 25/8/19

This is probably my favourite dog friendly beach we’ve visited so far. It is just beautiful, and not as busy as you might expect for a beach in summer, nothing like the hordes you get at Bournemouth at least! There is a lovely fresh water stream running towards the sea as well, perfect for dogs to splash in and get off all the sand and salt, and take a drink if they need it. It’s dog friendly all year round, and as the name suggests there are cliffs to walk across, as well as the main beach, and even the ruins of a castle. Loads of dog friendly pubs around here too. Such a brilliant place to visit.

33 - Melincourt Waterfall, Melincourt, Wales 26/8/19

For number 33 we visited a beautiful waterfall not far from where we were staying overnight in Wales. Although pretty (as most waterfalls are!), the walk up to it is very short so this was more of a stop off location on to something else. If you’re driving past, it’s worth a look, but don’t base your whole journey on this one.

34 - Afan Forest Park, Port Talbot, Wales 26/8/19

This one was lush. A huge forest with gravel and tarmac paths throughout the majority (at least of what we walked). We walked all the way down to the river running through the bottom and then back up. I’d definitely recommend this one. It’s a bike park as well, so take care around all the cyclists, of which there are many! If you fancy a trip, check out their website.

35 - Great Bedwyn, Marlborough, Wiltshire 28/8/19

This is a great walk that starts along the canal, then heads in a big circle with a tiny bit of road walking and back through some woodland and fields. There wasn’t any livestock, and it took us about 2 hours. The majority was off the lead for my boys, and free parking which is always a ‘wyn’! If you want to give this one a go, check out the route here.

36 - Windsor Great Park, Windsor, Berkshire 29/8/19

This is a beautiful country park that connects to Virginia Water, which is also really picturesque. There is a lovely big lake in the middle, and then loads of lovely woodland to explore as well as some beautiful sections of well maintained garden. This one is a great day out, but although it was fairly quiet when we went, I imagine it does get pretty busy at peak times. The parking is quite expensive as well, but we were lucky to find a spot in a lay-by just before it so we managed to park for free. If you’d like to visit, have a look at their website.

37 - The Dew Drop Inn, Hurley, Buckinghamshire 31/8/19

The Dew Drop Inn is the perfect location to start and finish a lovely dog walk as there are tonnes of footpaths around to explore. You can park at the pub for free if you are popping in before or after your walk. We walked through the woods to get to the big fields surrounding Berkshire Agricultural College, which were lovely and open and pretty quiet as well even on a nice summer’s day. We finished in the beer garden for some food and ended up ordering even more after we were done as it was super tasty!

38 - Betws-y-Coed, Snowdonia, Wales 6/9/19

Number 38 marks the beginning of our Snowdonia adventuring. I’ve wanted to head to this area for a while and it did not disappoint. For our first adventure here, we did a little walk around the picturesque village of Betws-y-Coed. We walked along the river and along the edge of the golf course, and then back to the main square for some ice cream. I love the picture we managed to get here!

39 - Mount Snowdon, Snowdonia, Wales 6/9/19

The main reason for our visit, which I’m sure is no surprise, was to tackle Mount Snowdon. We took the Pyg track up and the Miners track back down. The latter was definitely an easier route for the boys, but they managed pretty well on the way up too. Sadly though, we didn’t manage to get to the top and ended up making the decision to turn round where the 2 tracks met. Unfortunately we didn’t luck out with the weather, and Patch, and particularly Aslan, were starting to get too cold and it wasn’t fair on them to continue. Still super happy we managed to see some of it though, and perhaps we will give it another go in the future. If you want to try it, be aware that the car park gets very busy, and there are loads of sheep on the mountain, so it was an on lead walk for Sabre and Patch who can’t resist trying to chase them.

40 - Harlech Beach, Snowdonia, Wales 7/9/19

I did my research before our Snowdonia adventure, and the second ‘must’ on my list was Harlech Beach as I had read it was one of the best dog friendly beaches around. A picture says 1000 words, but safe to say we enjoyed it. The majority of the beach is dog friendly all year round (with an exception on a small section between April and September), and it was really quiet when we went.

41 - Harlech Castle, Snowdonia, Wales 7/9/19

When I heard there was a castle in the area that allowed dogs inside to explore as well, obviously we had to check it out. But honestly, although it was cool to be able to take them in (and snap a quick pic of course!), the novelty wore off fairly quickly for me. The castle itself is on the smaller side, and it’s not much fun for the dogs as they understandably have to be on a lead, and I didn’t feel comfortable taking them up to the few sections you could climb steps to. The view from the castle is pretty cool though. If you want to go in, it’s £7 per person to have a look.

42 - Coed Y Brenin Forest Park, Snowdonia, Wales 7/9/19

This was a beautiful walk (apparently Forest Parks in Wales are awesome). There are loads of paths to choose from here. We picked a 4.5 mile walk, which turned out to be a fair hike, that headed through plenty of forest and past a couple of waterfalls as well. There are a few steep sections that are a bit unstable - but they do have signs up to advise you on these, so just make sure you take care if you pick these routes. If you’d like to visit, check out this website.

43 - Dinas Mawddwy, Machynlleth, Wales 8/9/19

For our drive home I picked a few spots to stop off at to make the most of our trip. The first was Dinas Mawddwy, which looked like a good point to stop and have a nosey from some brief online research. It is another lovely little village, however we didn’t manage to find a great dog walk. So we just did a little scoot round the village and then jumped back in the car to continue our travels.

44 - Brecon Beacons Visitor Centre, Wales 8/9/19

To finish off our Welsh adventure, we stopped in at the Brecon Beacons Visitor Centre. There are plenty of facilities here so it was a great place to split up our journey home, and get a good walk out of it whilst we were there. It is mainly open plains, with some great views of Brecon and the odd mini cliff to climb like the one in the photo. There are loads of sheep here so take care if you do take your dogosaur for an explore.

45 - Hermitage Woods, Berkshire 10/9/19

This was another great find that was very close to our old house in Newbury, yet we had never known it existed before we were recommended to go there by a friend. We were back a few times as it’s a brilliant place to walk, and big enough that you won’t bump into loads of people if you prefer a remote walk. There is a small car park off of Slanting Hill in Hermitage.

46 - East Ilsey, Berkshire 18/9/19

This is another that we used All Trails for, you can find the route here. It is a fairly easy 3 mile loop, walking along by-ways that are all fenced off from the neighbouring fields, and therefore you don’t share any paths with livestock. Honestly, it wasn’t one of our favourites, though I do love the photo of the boys haha!

47 - Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire 20/9/19

This is another All Trails route (you can find it here). We enjoyed this one, which took us around an hour. When we walked there were a few overgrown bits, but nothing too horrendous. We walked through one field with sheep, and there were sheep in plenty of neighbouring fields as well so take care with your dogosaurs if you do want to give it a go. The majority of the walk is woodland.

48 - Ashmansworth & Faccombe, Berkshire 21/9/19

We loved this one! Pick a clear day as the views are lovely. Beautiful rolling hills make up the majority of the walk, with some pretty by-ways in there as well and a couple of short sections on the country lanes. There were loads of pheasants in a few areas when we walked, much to my boys’ amusement… The Jack Russell pub is about half way round if you wanted to stop for some food or a pint, you could always park there and head in after you’ve completed the walk. It’s dog friendly and all local, ethical food. There are lots of climbs and descents on this route, and it took us about 2.5 hours in total. You can find the route here.

49 - East Park Farm, Berkshire 18/10/19

For this one we parked in the car park for Charvil Piggott Primary School (this was at a weekend). We walked behind the tennis courts and across the green, to get to Charvil Country Park. The walk heads round a lake, and it was very muddy when we went, but fairly quiet. The route we did didn’t take us too long, it is around 2 miles to walk round the lake and back.

50 - Hurley River Walk, Berkshire 19/10/19

This is a lovely walk along the River Thames and back. You can park in the church car park (SL6 5NF). There may be some livestock in adjacent fields, and there were lots of birds by the river when we walked! We just did an out and back route of around an hour in total. As with most river walks - it was very pretty!

51 - Badocks Wood, Bristol 2/11/19

This is a small woodland area with a stream running through it in central Bristol. It was chucking it down when we first went here so we were happy just having a little wander, but having been back once since - it’s a bit too small for us! If you want to give it a go though, you can find more information on the Bristol Barkers website here.

52 - Roydon Woods, New Forest 3/11/19

For 52 & 53 we took a little day trip to the New Forest with our friend. We parked at The Filly Inn, and for our morning walk we headed towards the back of the car park and up the by way towards the woods. There are quite a few footpaths and bridleways to explore round here, but it will probably be fairly muddy if you go in the Autumn or Winter, it was when we went in November. Once you get off the main big track that runs from the pub, it’s pretty cool woodland to explore.

53 - Setley Common, New Forest 3/11/19

After lunch at The Filly, we walked across the road to the common. We didn’t have a route planned and just kind of wandered around. It is pretty typical New Forest scenery round there, with big open plains and New Forest ponies dotted around. There looked like a designated car park this side for walkers as well. Some lovely Autumn colours when we went.

54 - The Crabtree Plantation, Hampshire 9/11/19

The Crabtree Plantation is in Basingstoke, Hampshire. There is a fairly large free car park off of London Road. This is a great area if your dogosaur likes to play with others as it was super busy when we went. There is a woodland section and then a large open green with a kids playground.

55 - The Dundas Arms & Irish Hill, Berkshire 24/11/19

This one starts from The Dundas Arms pub in Kintbury which is a lovely dog friendly pub along the canal with some great board games! The walk follows the canal and then crosses up onto Irish Hill. It is a nice countryside walk, but definitely one for wellies in the wetter months - somewhat boggy in parts for us in late November. We didn’t see any livestock when we walked but I’m pretty sure they will be in some of the fields at certain times of the year. You can try the route here.

56 - Manor Woods Valley, Bristol 30/11/19

This is the first place we tried when we found our new house in Bristol. Although it is local to us, it’s another one that was a bit small as we like to get a proper hour long walk in at least when we venture out. There is a small wooded section and the Malago River runs through the park, and further along there is a large green area which would be great for a dog that likes to play ball, or to play with other dogosaur friends - it seems to be a fairly popular spot in the middle of Bishopsworth town. If you want to try it, find more information here.

57 - Tidenham Chase, Monmothshire 27/12/19

For Christmas 2019 we spent a few days at my sister’s house in Chepstow, which has some great walks nearby (we need to explore more in future!). For this trip, we drove up the road to Tidenham Chase, where you can walk to Offas Dyke and The Devils Pulpit. Supposedly there are some amazing views round here, but we managed to pick the foggiest day ever to try the walk so couldn’t see much sadly! We will be trying this one again in the future. We parked at Tidenham Chase car park (NP16 7JR).

58 - Old Winchester Hill, Hampshire 30/12/19

This is a 5 mile route that took us about 1.5 hours. It has some great views, and subsequently some hill climbs (one really steep one towards the end!). Whilst we did enjoy this route, if we went again we’d probably just head right into the nature reserve from the car park and take a wander up there. This part seemed to be a bit busier. There are a few trails for around here on the All Trails website. The one we did seems to have changed now!

59 - Thursley National Nature Reserve, Surrey 25/1/19

This is a huge area in Goldaming, which is fabulous for a dogosaur walk! We followed a 5 mile route which took us around 2 hours and we really enjoyed it. No livestock, barely any roads, and lots of nice open tracks (sand not mud!) make for a great adventure. You could easily just pull up in the free car park and set off for a wander. Or if you want to follow a route, this is the one we did.

60 - Paice’s Wood, Berkshire 26/1/19

This is a great country park just outside Reading. The car park is very big ( and free!) - you have to drive down a single lane track to get to it, the post code is RG7 4PW. This is another one we wish we had discovered sooner, as it’s only about 20 minutes away from Newbury. At the start of the walk there are a few lakes you can walk round, then you can continue on into the woodlands. It’s another muddy one in the winter (woods so predictable!), and there were signs about blue-green algae, so I would suggest you keep any aquatic dogosaurs away from the water to keep them safe.

61 - Benyon’s Enclosure, Berkshire 28/1/20

This is a great big woodland that can be accessed via Kings Road/ Church Road/ Soke Road or Welshmans Road in Mortimer West End. We parked in a teenie tiny little lay-by by one of the entrances. Another one we were gutted we didn’t know about sooner, and another one with a lake!

62 - Hinton Ampner, Hampshire 1/2/20

This would be a lovely walk for the dryer months. Hinton Ampner is a National Trust site in Alresford, but we followed the route on All Trails and parked for free elsewhere. If you want to make a full day of it with the family you could give the National Trust section a go - I reckon it will be rather busy at peak times though. Our walk took us about 1.5 hours and followed both wooded and open sections.

63 - Selborne Common & Noar Hill, Hampshire 2/2/20

This is another walk that would be lush if it wasn’t so muddy! It was actually pretty difficult towards the end to navigate all the bog in Selborne Common, so I’d definitely recommend going later in the year. The route follows mostly wooded tracks with minimal road walking. The common does have cows, but we only saw 4 when we walked through and they weren’t bothered by us. If you want to give the route a go, you can find it here.

64 - Watlington Hill & Christmas Common, Oxfordshire 3/2/20

This one is a great walk. And pretty dry considering we went in early February! The area is famous for Red Kites if you are interested in a spot of bird watching. The route we did does include one steep hill to climb, but I’d say it’s worth it. If you want to try it, check out the route here.

65 - Lardon’s Chase & The Holies, Berkshire 4/2/20

You can find these nature reserves by heading for Streatley Hill, postcode RG8 9RB, where there is a small free car park (this is where we parked but there may be others). This car park is in between the 2 reserves. There is also a third - Lough Down - that we didn’t quite get to. Lardon Chase is on the side of the car park, and is a large open green area with some lush views. The Holies is the opposite side and is a woodland rich with wildlife (we even saw a fox when we went!). I believe there may be livestock on the Holies as well though we didn’t see any when we went. This is a lovely place to visit if you are in the area, and you can spend a good few hours exploring.

66 - The Vyne, Hampshire 5/2/20

The Vyne is another National Trust site near Basingstoke. We didn’t quite realise that it was £15 or something to park if you aren’t a National Trust member, and we turned up pretty late in the day for our walk. So instead we parked in a lay by along Morgaston Road, which leads into The Vyne woodlands. Dogs are asked to be kept on the lead on the grounds, and entering this way rather than the main entrance we did get a bit confused about where to walk, and were losing light so decided to make quick work of the woods. If you enter through the main site there should be signs to guide you through the estate.

67 - Cheesefoot Head, Hampshire 7/2/20

We kept driving past the car park for Cheesefoot Head on our way to other adventures in the area, so I decided to look it up and find a good route we could do from there since it looked like a pretty good spot. We really enjoyed this one. The majority of the walk was off the lead, though there are livestock in the area so please be vigilant if you do go, and it was a good length - it took us about 2 hours 40 mins. If you want to try it I’d pick a clear day, and try to avoid peak times as the car park is pretty small and there’s not really anywhere else around to park. This is the route we did.

68 - Micheldever Wood, Hampshire 12/2/20

This is a great place near Winchester. You can park for free at the woods, postcode SO24 9TZ. You can either walk into the woods itself and do one of the trails that are on the map at the entrance, or you can follow some of the many footpaths and by-ways in the area to make a slightly bigger route, which is what we did. We really enjoyed it, and if we still lived in Berkshire we would be back for another adventure there. You can try our route here.

69 - Otter Trail, Otterbourne, Hampshire 14/2/20

This is a great route, though a definite welly walk if it’s been wet - when we walked some of the paths were underwater by a good inch or 2! It would be a great route in the summer as the first half follows the canal and river. We enjoyed this one despite the soggyness! There is a route on All Trails - they have renamed it since we walked but it should still be the same or similar!

70 - Basing Wood, Hampshire 18/2/20

Yet another we would have liked to have found sooner when we were in Newbury - this is a really great woodland with a kids play area in the middle. Fairly muddy when we went, but there are some wide gravel tracks that are obviously easier to walk on in the winter. We walked for about 1 hour 40 but you could easily do a bit longer I think. There is free parking next to Popley Fields Community Centre (RG24 9AE).

71 - Bramshill Forest, Hampshire 26/2/20

This is a great big woodland area with well made gravel and tarmac paths. It would be great for pushchairs and possibly more sturdy wheelchairs. We didn’t see too many people, but we did see a few horse riders so if your dog doesn’t like them make sure you are vigilant as I think it is a common spot for riders. We parked in a small car park off of Bramshill Road (RG27 0PR). Definitely give this one a go if you live nearby, or even if it’s a little drive away - you can spend a good few hours exploring.

72 - Ramsbury & Littlecote House, Wiltshire 6/3/20

One of our favourites! Absolutely loved this walk. Pick a clear day for this one as it covers some beautiful countryside. The majority of this route is off road (and off lead for the dogosaurs) on bridleways. You will walk past Littlecote House, which has a Roman Mosaic right next to it that you can take the dogs to visit. Also a great place to stop for a picnic. On our way back we saw a flock of deer in the surrounding fields (luckily the dogs didn’t even notice them when I put them on leads!) which was really cool. Highly recommend this one. If you want to try it, find the route here.

73 - Barrow Common, Bristol 9/3/20

This was the first route we did from our new home in South Bristol. We came up for the day to check out the house and clean, and I brought the boys so we could have a little explore. There are a huge amount of footpaths near us which is great, but most of them have either horses or cows in them which isn’t ideal with a Yorkie who barks at anything! The first time we walked this way it was mega boggy and I nearly lost a boot! We are now pretty familiar with the routes from our doorstep (special thanks to lockdown for that as well…) but this one honestly was nothing special, so I haven’t mapped the route as I don’t think it’s worth a visit unless you live next door! Still, lovely to be right next to the countryside and it is exactly what we wanted.

74 - Dundry Hills, Bristol 12/3/20

The second one we tried near our new home was a walk in Dundry. Dundry is a really lovely area of countryside in South Bristol, but be warned if you want to walk there - there are some mega hills!! We parked at the Downs Road Car Park (BS41 8LQ) and had an explore from there. There are a tonne of footpaths to explore - some with some rather interesting stiles that could be tricky for larger dogs. This area also has loads of cows and sheep in the spring and summer. We haven’t tried it in the cooler months yet.

75 - Blaise Castle Estate. Bristol 14/3/20

We love this one, which has become a regular for us since the move. It has a bit of everything - woodland with a lovely stream running along and a few spots deep enough for a dogosaur to swim, and a large open green area near the main car park, as well as a small castle and a cafe (that we have yet to try but is very popular) as well as a kids play area and ice cream van (presumably only in the warmer months!). The first few times we visited here, we parked in the smaller Coombe Dingle car park near the wooded/ stream area. Recently we have been using the large King Weston car park, which is right next to the large open area, that soon connects to the woods if you walk for a few minutes. You can find more information here.

76 - Bourton Combe, Bristol 14/3/20

Another new regular walk for us. Bourton Combe is a lovely woodland in Flax Bourton. It is rocky underfoot in places, and can be muddy in the main track into the woodland. It’s a really cool little area, that can be extended out towards Backwell through footpaths at the opposite end. On one side there are often sheep and cattle in adjacent fields - they are fenced off but at places this fence is pretty low so please take care with dogosaurs that may be interested. For more information, check out Bristol Barkers website.

77 - Ashton Hill, Bristol 15/3/20

The first time we went here it was torrential and the boys just wanted to go home so we didn’t get a good explore. But since then we have been a few times as it’s close to our new abode. It’s a nice, well maintained woodland with a small free car park. On one side there are horses and livestock in adjacent fields so take care with dogosaurs that may be interested. You can extend this walk pretty easily as there are several footpaths at the bottom that lead into Long Ashton. For more information click here.

79 - Overscourt Woods, Bristol 16/3/20

This one was super muddy when we visited. We plan to go back in nicer weather as it looks like it would be lovely, however, the car park is pretty small, and without anywhere close by to park we have been unable to park there when we have tried since. I’d say avoid peak times! You can find more information on the Bristol Barkers website.

80 - Hengrove Park & Mounds, Bristol 17/3/20

This one is a park in the middle of a fairly busy area on the outskirts of Bristol. The park itself has a skate park and play park at the entrance, and then tarmac paths surrounding large grass areas that are quite busy with other walkers and their dogosaurs. Then the mounds section is a bit quieter and muddier. You can find more information here, however we struggled to find the entrance using the map so I’d recommend parking in Hengrove Leisure Centre and walk in from there.

81 - Lords Wood, Bristol 18/3/20

Lords Wood in Pensford is a hidden gem. You can access the woods via Birchwood Lane, where there is a small amount of parking at the entrance. The woods has a stream running through it, and there are plenty of footpaths in the surrounding areas to extend the walk if you want to. For more information click here.

82 - Greyfield Wood, Bristol 19/3/20

This is a brilliant little woodland with a waterfall to discover! The car park is very small so I would avoid peak times here, otherwise park on the residential roads further up and walk along the road to the entrance. We really like this one, and if you live nearby you should definitely give it a go. If you want to try it you can find more information here.

83 - Stockwood Open Space, Bristol 20/3/20

Stockwood Open Space is a mixture of fields and wooded paths that is in the middle of a town in Bristol. We need to go back here to discover more but it seems pretty popular with the local dogosaurs! You can find more information here.

84 - Rowberrow and Beacon Batch, Bristol 21/3/20

This route is brilliant. There are so many paths to choose from, and you can take your time walking through the woods which has a lovely little stream running through at points, and then head out onto Beacon Batch which is an open area with beautiful views. There are wild ponies on Beacon Batch, but they are very used to people and dogs - we walked right through them at one point and even with Aslan barking they remained totally chilled. We have done this route since and varied it a few times. Highly recommend giving it a go if you are in the area. There is a pub at the start too, which is where I have parked, so great to stop off for a bit of lunch or a pint at the end! The route I used the first time can be found here.

85 - Pensford Viaduct, Somerset 22/3/20

This is a beautiful walk in the picturesque village of Pensford just outside Bristol. The route we followed took us through some lush open fields, some of which will be holding livestock at certain times of the year, and along the River Chew. We parked at Pensford Village Hall when we did it and walked from there, or you can follow the Bristol Barkers route here. There are lots of footpaths in the village so you could also plan your own route if you wanted!

86 - Northwick, Bristol 23/3/20

This is a local one to us in Bristol. We mapped our own route and honestly got rather confused as some of the footpath signs aren’t very obvious, and at least one is blocked off unfortunately. Since then, we tried a similar route which you can find here. There are quite a lot of sheep and cows round here though, and again some of the footpath entrances are a bit dodgy due to farmers gates and fencing. This is another area with lots of footpaths on the map so plenty of detours to try.

87 - Stockhill Woods, Somerset 24/3/20

This has now become a regular favourite of ours - with a large free car park and huge woodland to explore, plus plenty of footpath routes the other side of the road as well (one route we have tried you can find here). The paths in the woods are a mixture of larger gravel tracks and smaller tracks veering off the main routes. This place does get super busy at peak times, but it’s definitely worth a visit! The car park can be found on Old Bristol Road, BA5 3AS.

88 - Cheddar Reservoir, Somerset 25/3/20

This was a great walk of around 8 miles that started from the reservoir and took us along byways and footpaths through open fields and along parts of the Cheddar Yeo river. We only saw livestock in neighbouring fields when we walked, but at certain times of the year there will likely be sheep and cows in some of the fields on the route. We thoroughly enjoyed it, if you want to give it a go you can find the route here.

89 -  Yanley Quarry, Bristol 28/3/20

This is a route we found during lockdown that is from our doorstep. It’s a great 2 hour circular route, you can park along Coldpark Road or nearby in Withywood. It is mostly open fields with a small wooded section that runs underneath Colliters Way and has a little stream running through it. In the summer months there may be cows in a few of the fields, but during lock down it was luckily cow free and we did it quite a lot whilst we couldn’t drive anywhere! If you’d like to try it, you can find the route here.

90 - Radstock Waterside, Somerset 13/5/20

With the relief of being able to drive to adventures again, we went to Radstock for number 90. This is a lovely walk with a tiny little waterfall, and then a stream running throughout the woodland, and open fields surrounding it. There are livestock in some of the fields but they seem to be well sign posted. We parked in the free village car park (you do have to get a ticket though for some reason!), the postcode is BA3 3QG. From there you need to walk through the church graveyard and back onto the fields behind. There are loads of footpaths and we didn’t do a set route.

91 - Stanton Prior, Somerset 14/5/20

This is a great rural walk, mostly open fields (some with livestock), heading past Bath Spa University and back along a few quiet country roads. Take care of the road sections as there are some sections are very thin! There are some fairly steep climbs for this walk, and I imagine it probably gets a bit muddy in winter, but when we walked it was beautiful and green. If you’d like to give it a go, you can find the route here.

92 - Eastwood Farm, Bristol 15/5/20

Eastwood Farm is a pretty mix of open green space and woodland, with part of it running along the River Avon. It is fairly small, and, as we found out after trying to follow what we had mapped on the footpath app - you can’t cross over to the other side of the river on foot! I believe there is a boat that crosses sometimes, but that wasn’t running when we went due to Covid restrictions. If you want to give it a go, you can find more information here.

93 - Frampton Cotterell to Winterbourne Down, Bristol 16/5/20

For this one we started near The Globe pub, which wasn’t open when we went due to lockdown, but could be a good spot to get some lunch! We walked all the way along the River Frome, with quite a few good spots for aquatic dogosaurs to get in. There were a few very narrow pathways, and there could be livestock in some of the fields at certain times of year but all in all this was a lovely walk.

94 - Crook Peak, Bristol 18/5/20

This is a great walk just outside Bristol, near the airport. You can use the Kings Woods car park, which is free, but quite small so it may be full in at peak times (excuse the pun hah!). The walk obviously includes a bit of climbing, but depending on what route you take it’s not too steep (some sections are a bit more of a climb). The views are beautiful from the top. There are sheep grazing here so take care with dogosaurs. They are loose in the area so you may not see them on your walk.

95 - Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire 19/5/20

This is a large area to walk in, with several different car parks to choose from. We chose the Neigh Bridge Car Park (GL7 7JY). Parking charges may apply. The car park opens up onto Neigh Bridge Country Park, and we walked from here to Cotswold Water Park. It was very quiet when we went. We got lost a couple of times, but the rough route we did can be found here if you want to try it. The walk was a mixture of different terrain but a lot of it obviously was round lakes - which could be good for a dogosaur that loves to swim, but please take care of the wildlife on the water. The middle section of our walk was our favourite with larger open tracks running around the lakes, with some lovely views. We stopped for some sandwiches by the lake which was lovely. If we go again I think we’ll aim for the main car park which I think opens up onto that bit quicker!

96 - Wellow, Somerset 22/5/20

This is a lovely little circular walk from Wellow. The route follows the river and then continues along a by way, along a little bit of quiet country lane and up through a sheep field where you can access Stoney Littleton Long Barrow. Definitely recommend this one, if you want to try it take a look here.

97 - King Alfreds Tower, Somerset 25/5/20

This is a great place to take your dogosaur for a walk! We parked in the free car park along Tower Road (BA10 0JS). You can also access it by parking at the National Trust site Stourhead, which you can loop the walk to. Unfortunately when we went the Stourhead site was closed due to lockdown but it was still a great walk. The car park was very full when we went, but the area is so big that you can easily keep your distance from other walkers. There may be livestock in a few of the fields en route. We ended up just wandering around as the circular walk we wanted to do (this one) wasn’t possible due to the closure of Stourhead.

98 - Brean to Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset 27/5/20

For 98 a friend and I headed to the beach. We parked near the village hall in Brean, which has a little footpath directly alongside it to get to the beach. We turned right and headed all the way down to Burnham-On-Sea, where we had a fish and chips before heading back the way we came. The beach is dog friendly all year, and seems to be far less busy than a lot of them! We have been back once since, and instead of walking along the beach, we headed right towards Brean Down which is a great cliff walk.

99 - Purton Ships Graveyard, Gloucestershire 27/5/20

This is a really cool place where you can see the remains of ships that were deliberately beached here to prevent the bank from erosion. We also walked along the canal which is very pretty. I should say though that your dogs won’t really be able to get into the water here. At least when we went, you couldn’t get down to the beach and you wouldn’t have wanted to anyway as it was all very muddy sand. If you want to take a trip, you can find more information here.

100 - Pen Y Fan, Brecon, Wales 19/9/20

The finale was a long time coming! But even though it was late, we definitely picked the perfect place to round up our year of adventures. We chose to park at the Cwm Gwdi Car Park (approximate postcode LD3 8LE), which was £3 for the whole day when we went. Heading up to the top from this point is a slightly harder route, with more of a scramble to reach the peak, it took us around 1 hour 20 mins in total. We went on a nice warm day, however it got very windy and misty (as you can see from the photo!) at the top so make sure you dress appropriately if planning a visit! There are lots of sheep on the mountain, and a few wild ponies as well. The views were amazing in the parts that weren’t too misty. The walk back was beautiful and passes a small lake that the dogs can have a swim in. You can find the route we did here, it took us around 4 hours.

Big thanks to all my wonderful friends who joined me on my new walks, and showed me some great routes. Also thank you to All Trails, Footpath Route Planner, Bristol Barkers and Dog Walking Bristol and Somerset, all of which have given me lots of help with finding and planning new walks!

Now onto the next 100…