Thrybergh Country Park

Thrybergh Country Park is located in Rotherham on Doncaster Road(S65 4NU), about 30 minutes drive away. 

There is parking at the park, however you do have to pay and input the first few digits of your vehicles registration. 

What's on offer?

• Beautiful views
• Fishing
• Lake (not for (dog) swimming)
• Flat terrain
• Cafe (hot and cold food/drinks)
• Playgrounds
• Picnic benches
• Wheelchair/Pushchair friendly

The park is a route around the lake, and you have to keep your dog on a lead. It's great for a family day out as there is a playground and cafe next to the car park with public toilets. The lake is quite big so you can take your time around around it. It took us about an hour then we stopped at the cafe for some food.

The lake and sights are beautiful, so it's definitely worth a visit just to check it out! (Great for photo opportunities!)

The cafe is reasonably priced and a good place to stop for lunch with your typical snack/lunchtime menu theres bound to be something for the pickiest of people. 

This park isn't somewhere we'd go much in future as your dog has to be kept on a lead, isnt allowed in the water and it doesn't take too long to complete it. However, if you have small children and a dog who isn't into swimming, this walk could be for you as it wont tire out the kids too much (or you) it's flat all the way round, and there is a playground and a small cafe/ice cream shop that is great for children. I definitely recommend checking out this park to see if it's for you. 

Concord Park/Woolley Woods

Whats on offer:

• Flat terrain (concord park)
• woodland (woolley woods)
• sport centre (concord park)
• open fields (concord park)

Concord Park is located between Shiregreen and Wincobank. For parking there are two options, the top car park on Shiregreen Lane (S56 AE) gives you access to the sports centre and the courts, as well as the top of Concord Park. However, if you're wanting to visit Woolley Woods, you are best parking at the bottom end, at the entrance of Woolley Woods on Concord Road (S5 OTT). This car park is free and is open all the time. Do be aware that we have seen a burnt out car in this car park, at night. However, we have parked here on numerous occasions during the day and evening, without any problems ourselves. 

Woolley Woods entrance is at the bottom of Concord Park, next to the golf course. This woods is on a hill so however far you walk down, have in mind you have to walk back up it. Because it is next to a golf course, a lot of the paths lead on to the grass course itself and can get quite confusing, especially when you're trying not to let your dog venture onto it. We took the steps down all the way to the bottom, walked along the path, and then walked back. All the hills can get confusing, the last thing you want is to walk up a steep hill and have to walk back down it after finding out its a dead end(golf course), talking from experience. The stairs are quite steep so if you tire easily or have problems walking, it may be best to miss out these woods.

Concord Park is huge and consists of a lot of open fields towards the bottom, this is great for letting your dog run around freely and play fetch without getting in anyone else's way. There is a path that goes all the way around the park, so if you're not bothered about the field its still a decent length walk. The top of the car park has tennis courts 

The Doggy Den

Not our usual post, but useful all the same! 

Doggy day care!

Where?

The Doggy Den is located on Little London Road, near London Road. 

4 Litte London Road,
Sheffield,
S8 OUH
Te: 0114 2581926

"Sheffield's only specifically designed dog socialisation and play centre."

The building is bright pink, you can't miss it. 

Due to its location we've not been able to take our dogs here as much as we'd like to, however when Izzy was a pup we did take her a few times a week to get her used to other dogs. 

(Izzy's first time at the den!)

She's still a bit skittish of hyper, full on dogs but she's isn't as bad as she was before (running to other side of park). They do offer one to one sessions but the general idea is to drop your dog off for however long you need between the hours of 6:30am and 7pm week days and 7am to 6pm on Saturday. 
£6/hour
£24/day

We first met Tom, the owner of Doggy Den, and he was great with Izzy! 

Very friendly and always updated us on how she was. They post photos on their Facebook all the time so I'm always looking to see if Izzy appears! Which she has a few times! (Like above). 

We've also used the day care for when we went to a wedding that lasted all day, rather then letting Izzy stay at home on her own all day we dropped her off in the morning then picked her up just before 7pm. She was knackered and when we went back I'm certain she just slept! Much better then being alone and bored all day. 

They also offer grooming, which I've never used but seen before and after pictures and I'd definitely use them if Izzy were a breed that required grooming! 

For more information on services and prices, visit their website here:

http://www.doggyden.co.uk

They're also available on Facebook. 

Beeley Wood

What's on offer  

• Easy terrain 
• Clear paths 
• River (can be fast flowing after heavy rainfall)
• Woodland 

Parking

There is no car park for this walk, however whenever we've driven there we park on Station Lane 

There is limited parking so may be difficult during holidays and weekends. 

Beeley Woods is a wooded area between Hillsborogh and Outibridge. Just on the right hand side if you were going towards Outibridge from Middlewood Road North towards Langsett Road South. If we are travelling without the car we get on the SL link bus from Middlewood tram stop and get off 3 stops into the journey. We walk up to a cut in the road just below the bus stop on the opposite side of the road and walk down the steps. This is quite a muddy path and not part of the easy going trail. We walk down towards the bridge and cross. Across the bridge is a large paper factory which you walk on the outskirts of. 

You can either turn left or right at the end of the bridge. If you turn to the left you come to a great place for your dog to swim down a small slope, to an almost beach like area. 

If you turn to the right you'll eventually get to a car park, so be careful, there are some large stone Lego bricks here which are great for photos! 

Either way will eventually take you to the main path, you walk down with the river to your left, and keep following the path. 

There are a few bits when your dog can swim or paddle, be aware if it's been raining though as it can get really deep and very quick! We wouldn't advise your dog swims when it's like this. 

To your right as you walk down there is a fence to seperate you from the woods. There are often off road motorbikes going around the woods so we just keep to the path. We have never seen a bike on the path and they are usually organised groups who don't cause any hassle. 

Keep walking along the path and eventually you will get to a fenced off cricket ground, walk alongside this and you come out to a road round the back of some houses. This is a dead end drive to the cricket ground so cars go very slowly and are rarely there. You can then either follow the road to your right or take a mud path straight ahead, both will bring you out onto the road near the bridge in Outibridge. This is the road we park on when we take the car, we do the full walk backwards and then come back on ourselves. 

This walk is good in damp (not heavy) rain fall, and very pretty in Autumn. It's not a very long walk and is local/easily accessed so good for a change of scenery walk. 

Across the bridge is the Cock Inn pub which is dog friendly and serves great food. 

We reviewed this here: The Cock Inn

Whiteley Woods/Endcliffe Park

 

Where?

Endcliffe Park and Whiteley Woods are next to each other, so you can do both walks in one go, or just one depending on the amount of time you want to spend there. 

The entrance to Endcliffe Park is on the roundabout at the end of Ecclesall Road (A625). Parking around here can be very busy on a nice day, as well as during school holidays and weekends. There are loads of bus services that come near, so it's a great place to go if you don't drive. But this area is also used for work parking. I usually park on Rustlings Road, if there's space. There is a small car park but its very unlikely you'll get a space unless the weather is really dull. The car park (road) is at the beginning of Rustlings Road (nearest to the roundabout) alongside Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club (S11 7AA). 

More often then not, we skip Endcliffe Park and just do Whiteley Woods, as with the name, it's more woodland than park and so not usually as busy as Endcliffe (although still fairly busy). 

If you're not doing both, or dont mind walking back on yourself, then you can park Oakbrook Road (S11 7EA) for Whiteley Woods, as the entrance to that is at the other end of Rustlings Road. 

What's on offer?

• Water (shallow, both)
• Kids play area (Endcliffe)
• Woodland (Whiteley Woods)
• Cafe (Endcliffe)
• Flat terrain (Both, but Endcliffe more so)
• *bike hazard*

Endcliffe park has stepping stones a kids play area, as well as a cafe and an open field all in one spot. Great for the family day out! 

There are 2 routes in endcliffe park, the front main route, past the playground and cafe, and the back way which separates you by a small stream from the main area. This tends to be a bit muddier, and is our preferred route. 

The main cafe near the playground is nice but often very very busy with lots of kids and family's. 

There is sometimes a small fair here too, with a bouncy castle and some teacup style rides. 

Both places have shallow waters, which is why taking Izzy here when she was a puppy got her used to water, as she could stand and not have to swim - great for young dogs, and old! (there is a bit near the entrance that's quite deep, so keep an eye on your dog if it can't swim, but no other that I'm aware of) 

When Izzy was a puppy she'd only venture in water that she could stand in, so this was great to break her into it. Now, however, she loves to actually swim, so it's not one of favourite places to go personally, to tick our boxes, but could be the perfect fit for you and your dog.

There are hazards in Whiteley Woods to watch out for as there is cycling routes, and a bit of the path actually has a cycling path drawn on it. So if like Izzy, your dog isnt good with bikes, this might be a lead walk for you. It's also very popular for joggers and children.  

 

Be aware that you will occationally come to a road you have to cross to carry on after Endcliffe Park, and at intervals in Whiteley Woods. You can usually see it before you get there but if your dog likes to wander off ahead, be extra vigilant if you're letting them off lead. Be very careful on this road as there is quite a sharp bend and cars come very quickly round it. 

This photo is taken on one of said roads.  

Overall this is a very nice scenic walk, in the middle of a populated area, great for making a full day of it, or even if you just want to pop out for a hour as you can make this walk as short or as long as you like. It's mainly a flat walk, so good for push chairs (Endcliffe), children and people who generally prefer flat terrain, which lets face it, is hard to come by in Sheffield!

Graves Park

Car Parks

There are two car parks for Graves Park, one near the Animal Farm (S8 8JU Bunting Nook, charges apply) and one at the bottom end (S8 8GJ Charles Ashmore Road, free, but do check). Both these car parks are fairly big, but this park does get extremely busy during weekends and school holidays as well as any hot day so do be prepared. There is parking available around the park but may require a short walk to the park. Although Graves Park is located inside Sheffield, because of it's location it can take a while to get there during busy traffic periods, so I'd recommend planning around high traffic hours. When we visited last it did feel like it took longer to get here then it did some of the walks on the Parkway due to traffic and having to drive through the city centre. 

  

What's on offer?

• Animal farm
• Lakes (only middle lake available for dog swimming) 
• Cafe
• Free Fishing (anglers still need a current EA rod licence)
• Two children's playground 
• Land train (weekends and school holidays around the ponds and cafe)

Graves Park is the city's largest park (87 acres), located in Woodseats just off Chesterfield Road South. We prefer to visit this park when it's raining or miserable weather as otherwise it is overrun with kids and visitors, as the park is very well known, but it is a lovely park so who can blame them! It often has fun fairs and events so it is worth checking that the main fields will be empty, although there is a lot of space so you should be able to cut your walk slightly to avoid these. However in miserable weather you only really come across other dog walkers and the occasional family, so we prefer to visit then. One of the main reasons this park is so popular is because of the Animal Farm, which is located at the top end of the park near the cafe.

We always park on the bottom end of the park on Charles Ashmore Road, as the parking is free. We then head towards the right as you look up at the main field and go round the park anti-clockwise. At first there are two huge fields where Watson and Izzy love to stretch their legs and let out their energy. In Izzy's case, due to always going in wet weather, she will also find a nice muddy spot to roll in.

Do be prepared, if like us, you decide to go on a wet day as the fields do get very muddy and so will you and your dog! Towels are a must for this walk. As you get to the top of the field on the right, there is a path that goes upwards and a path that goes to the right. The right path will lead you out of the park, and the path that goes up will take you to a dead end, so continue around the field to your left. As you go a bit further there will be another path that leads upwards, this will take you closer to the Animal Farm, and the fields either side of you will contain animals. They contained cows and sheep when we visited, and as you can see the fences do have quite large gaps in them, so if you own a small dog, now might be the time to lead them. Watson is only just too big to fit in these gaps, and Izzy has no chance. But if your dog, large or small, has the tendency to chase livestock, please ensure you keep them on a lead, or continue on the path along the field to avoid the animals. On our first visit we decided to take the dogs up to see them, this time we put them on a lead as we didn't know how Izzy would react to the animals having never seen them before, but the second time we didn't, as neither Watson nor Izzy would bug the animals and were controllable around them, so for now we kept them off the lead. Both were curious, but not aggressive or tormenting toward the animals, and although the cows seemed intrigued, most of them just ignored or moved away if they were not interested.

After seeing the cows, we carried on around the bend. This is when you come to the lakes. Not all these lakes are dog friendly, only the middle. The others are fenced off, so it is obvious which your dog is allowed in. Izzy obviously has a quick dip, theres no stopping the girl, but it is quite handy after having a run (and roll) on the muddy field. There are plenty of swans, geese and ducks around, so again, if your dog has a tendency to chase them, please keep them on a lead. 

The top lake is fenced off with other birds, again our dogs were just curious and didnt harm or torment the animals, so just know your own dog and be respectful to the animals homes!

On the other side of the path next to the lake were alpacas, which Izzy was very interested in, and was very surprised that the alpaca was also interested in her! They didn't seem too bothered by the interested dogs, and had a nosey themselves. The sheep in the same field tend to just stay back from the fences.

 

At the top of the path is the Animal Farm, part of this farm is dog friendly (the outside bit), but dogs must be kept on a lead. So we put both dogs on a lead before we went in. Both dogs were interested in the animals, but again, they weren't aggressive or tormenting them, just curious. So if your dog wont take kindly to the animals, I suggest avoiding this part of the park. Dogs aren't allowed past a certain point, so keep a look out for the signs, you'll then come to the Animal Farm car park (charges apply). 

We walked through the car park and back onto the path, alongside the fields toward the cafe and children's playground. The cafe is known for being very good but isn't dog friendly so we haven't been in. The playground is also very good, with a large range of activities for kids so if your bringing them it's a good place to stop to keep them interested in the walk. Dogs can't come in the playground but you can see clearly all around. Continuing down past the playground, you come to a wooded area, we took a right a bit further down here and headed through the woodland which eventually brought us back to the car park. The path is the wooded areas is not kept very well and there is a sharpe downward slant towards a stream so be careful, we wouldn't advise this for pushchairs/young children/anyone who may trip! Like most parks, the routes are pretty straight forward and you can make the walk as short or as long as you like. This is a dirty walk in wet weather, so we do suggest towels and wellies. Taking this route took us about an hour and a half, give or take. We have met a lot of other dog walkers in Graves Park, including other Boston Terrier owners! As well as many other breeds, so we highly recommend coming here in wet weather just to meet some local dog owners! It definitely makes the walk when you get chatting to other dog owners, if you're anything like us. 

BEACH REVIEW: Mablethorpe Beach

Where?

Round about 2 hours from Sheffield is a beautiful sandy beach, so nice in summer you could pretend you were abroad. I really recommend this beach, well worth the 2 hour drive. 

We used the Sea View Car Park (charges apply, £5/day) as this was the dog end of the beach. Postcode for this car park: LN12 1LT. 

What's on offer?

• Beach
• Sea
• Cafes
• Ice cream
• Sweet store
• Crazy golf
• Arcades 

Izzy has visited this beach twice now, both in late June. The top half of the beach is dog friendly all year round, the bottom half of the beach is a no dog zone between May and September. But both ends of the beach are equally clean and scenic. I found there was just more families on one half, and dogs on the other half, which was beneficial for us as Izzy isn't used to kids, and tends to chase anything that moves. She was a lot better the second time round however, and didn't bother with anyone else at all, only showed interest in her ball, other dogs and us. There is a land train that continuously drives up and down the beach taking people from one end to the other (dogs allowed) so be aware your dog doesn't end up in front of it. 

A major downfall of this beach is the flies!! I wore a bright green vest and flies seem to be VERY attracted to it. This was mostly by the top end of the beach, near the grassy bits and didn't seem to bother near the sea (so I stayed by the sea). Izzy did get very tired the first time we went as she was under a year old (9 months), whereas the second time round she seemed to handle the drive a lot better and was able to play a lot more before getting tired.

We stayed on the beach for a good few hours, had a picnic, then decided to go for a wander. We threw our stuff in the car and walked down through the car park toward the walkway that would lead us further down the beach. We saw a few rabbits in the grass before the walkway! 

Once you reach the main beach, there are donut stores, ice cream stores, sweet stores, chippys, all your beach essentials as well as a small theme park. We grabbed an ice cream and some rock, and headed back up. If you go further into Mablethorpe, into the town, there are arcades and other shops to explore. I'm not sure if these are dog friendly though, so do check. 

Because of how long it takes to drive down, I highly recommend spending the whole day here and to plan around rush hours. If you pick a nice day, it will honestly feel like you are on holiday abroad, the beach is lovely and clean and I highly recommend it and in my opinion it is well worth drive as you'll not only come back with a happy and tired pooch, but a tan to boot!