We booked this holiday very last minute due to Covid 19 scuppering our plans to go to France – as such we were left with only one choice of accommodation. This was the first time we had stayed in a static caravan together , with or without dogs ! .
Which type of accommodation ? Due to the last minute nature of our trip there was only one choice available to us , this was a Deluxe caravan , it had 2 bedrooms , one double and one twin room , the double was large and had an en suite which was more than adequate. The caravan was large ( approx 12ft wide ) and had a great kitchen and shower … All bedding was spotless and the caravan had all we needed , A huge wrap around sofa and a lovely little dining area with a picnic table outside the door. Some of the other caravans had a balcony and there are also lodges on the site.
We mainly used the park as a base to explore elsewhere in the surrounding Beauty of Durham and Northumberland .
Access all Areas ? Yes – The caravan and park was fully dog friendly and welcomed throughout , Dogs need to be kept on leads in the park , however there is plenty of places for them to explore off lead within a 2 minute walk from the park , there is a large playing field just outside the entrance ( out of the park , turn left to bottom of path , take the path to left – follow , this will follow the track of the river and you will find a large playing field – TIP – the footpath shows the route which goes through a Cow field , however if you take the small track slightly to the left side it follows the river and avoids the cows 😉
One thing to make note of and I will repeat myself again later is there are a LOT of rabbits – Foxy Roxy being the terrier hunting dog and also the Pointer dog were ready at all times if they had a chance to go off lead – we did not allow them to be off lead here as it would not have ended well for the bunny rabbits !! If you have a dog not interested in rabbits , you would be fine off lead – through the trees you can also get into the river Wear – If the river is low it would be safe for your dog , if the river was high I would stay away as it is quite fast flowing ..
SEAHAM
Out and About – ( This is going to be a long one 😉 Seaham – We spent the first day at Seaham , wandered along the beach and took in the promenade visiting the Terrace Green and rather emotive Tommy statue -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_(statue).
We found a dog friendly pub for lunch – The Crows Nest – walking away from the town centre you will find it approx half a mile down the front, set to the left on the roundabout , we did not need to book and sat outside , again due to Covid 19 it was best to order drinks and food together at the bar to reduce the amount of times for contact , The food was good and the dogs were very welcome. There is some dog friendly seating indoors , we were blessed with good weather and sat outside, water bowls were provided for the animals and good beer for the humans.
A trip onto the beach was a must – No dog restrictions , it is a shingle beach on the whole near the town , However further down ( near the pub ) there is a sand beach and above this a lovely long Promenade to walk along
Next day was Bamburgh – Where to start – what a beautiful part of the world , I literally could live there.. The castle allows dogs , they can go anywhere apart from the staterooms and the Clock Tower cafe , there are other places to sit outside to eat with your dog and a little stables area indoors if the weather is not good , we didn’t buy food there , however what was on offer looked delicious and the coffee was superb , We spent a good hour and a half there and then onto the beach – We had parked at the castle itself , however there are various car parks surrounding the area , Parking at the castle was cheap at £3.00 for half a day – TIP if you go later in the day it is not as busy , apparently at 10AM there were 50 cars waiting to queue , we went at 2.30PM and there was plenty of spaces , They close the gates at 4pm – Last entrance to the castle is 5pm.
From the castle walk down through the sand dunes and all I can say is WOW – It is stunning, perfect sand and lovely clear water – The dogs loved it , there are no dog restrictions here , So just turn up and enjoy .. walking away from the beach through the dunes is a village green , stunning .. lots of ball games going on here , Croquet was in full swing and families were enjoying football and cricket amongst other things – Dogs are allowed to play here too .. Lots of bins for poo bags .. Across from here there are a couple of lovely pubs ( mentioned in the human section).
Next day was High Force and Low Force https://www.raby.co.uk/high-force/waterfall/ We arrived on a very wet day , However the beauty of this area is worth getting drenched for – We started off from Low force at the Bowlees visitor centre car Park , it is a donate and display car park , I hadn’t seen one of these before , so we paid £3.00 which seems to be the going rate – DL12 0XE – Please do support them , walk through the car park and past the visitor centre and cross the road and follow the track – it took us approx 1.5 hours to reach High Force as we were taking photos and generally astonished at how pretty it was , parts reminded me of a miniature Nova Scotia .The walk to High force will lead you to many stone steps when you get close to the waterfall itself , I counted approx 60 on the first section and then 110 one the part back through Raby itself once you have been to view the falls from the bottom – It is in no way non able bodied friendly due to the nature of the rugged land. The walk is beautiful if a little hard going in parts, but nothing too pressing for normal level of fitness. Personally I preferred the Low Force area -We ate at The High Force Hotel ( more of that in the human section) before making our way back to the car. A great day had by all.
A very stunning part of this area – Not to be missed – Great walks for the dogs , they went off lead but please do be aware there are deer in the surrounding fields and lots of rabbit warrens in the adjacent fields .
Seahouses
We chose this day to take the dog friendly boat trip around the Farne Islands , our dogs and 2 others were perfectly behaved and enjoyed seeing different wildlife around them, TIP – however if your dog is reactive ( barking) it may be wise to leave them with someone and enjoy the trip without them , it is not fair on the non dog owners who are also on the trip to have a barking dog for the whole of the trip. This is a trip of utter beauty so don’t spoil it for others .
We chose Serenity Boat tours , however there are others available – I booked over the phone to ensure we got the time slot we wanted , with Covid 19 there is a reduced passenger availability. I would love to return and go on the sunset trip. We did see a few puffins but they were departing for their next adventure at this time of year ( August).
There is a beach at Seahouses and it certainly has a family bucket and spade feel about it , we preferred Bamburgh so headed back to the sand dunes following our boat trip and had another great walk down the beautiful beach . A perfect place to be on a sunny day. One thing of note for dog owners is that if your dog fouls the marina at Seahouses you will be banned from the area – so be vigilant and pack those poo bags 😉
Whats in it for the Humans ? – Stunning scenery , good food and the joy of being able to take your dog to gallop along the beach and watch the pure pleasure on their furry faces. It has a very romantic feel about it , paddling through the waves and generally enjoying being together with nothing else to think about for the day – Places we ate were The Crows nest at Seaham , https://www.lord-crewe.co.uk The Lord Crewe in Bamburgh was a lovely spot for a drink or lunch , we did both twice ! .. Good food and well kept wines and beers , great staff service and dogs welcome… . All places we ate at were taking part in The ‘Eat out to help out scheme “
Of special note is The High Force Hotel in The Forest in Teesdale https://www.raby.co.uk/high-force/hotel/ dog friendly , great food , Le Pie has to get a special mention , I could have stayed there all day and night … We then had the 1 hour walk back to the car – not sure it walked off my wonderful food ,,however it may have made a dent in it . The High Force Hotel has 2 Dog Friendly rooms that start at £110.00 per night low season. For food you need to book a table, especially during Covid 19 , you can do this by telephone or pop in before you walk the waterfall in readiness for when you return – The walk is approx half an hour on the outside ( depends how good you are at there 110 steps back up ;-)).
The Bistro on Heather View Leisure Park is a good place to pop for a beer , have food and sit by the river , Dog Friendly areas are outdoors overlooking The River Wear – A limited menu was on offer due to Covid 19 , however it was good basic pub fair , We also had a takeaway one night which was hot and freshly made , a welcome teat after a long day touring about and beach walking. Be aware in August the midges come out at dusk ..
Packing List ? Well it is England after all , so pretty much everything you can think of for all weathers ! we had rain , wind, sunshine and everything in-between , but we had such a great holiday it really didn’t depend on the weather .. Foxy Roxy gets cold quite easily when wet , so a raincoat was essential for her to keep her warm once we stopped for food or a drink … Dog collar with tag is essential , there is plenty of wildlife around and all dogs can be liable to chasing after something exciting, so best to be safe and it is illegal to have your dog out without a tag . https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/training/good-citizen-dog-training-scheme/information-for-dog-owners/dog-identification-tags/
Budget £££££ – Our caravan was £900.00 for 7 days in August 2020. There are lodges too which would be more expensive . Contact Verdant Leisure to enquire.
Would we return ? It is a beautiful place , however we would prefer to go further up into Northumberland if we were to return to this part of Britain. The Park itself was lovely and a great base for our time in Durham.
Dog Friendly Places to Eat , Sleep and Stay 