BEST FOR WALKING

The New Forest

New Manor Park is in perfect walkies country: 580kms squared of New Forest grassland, heath, forests and streams surrounds the hotel, with no angry farmers or gamekeepers chasing you off their land. You’ll have to stop your dog chasing the ponies and deer though, and it’s unadvisable to let them take on the pigs that roam the Forest during pannage, the two-month long season when pigs are allowed to graze the New Forest and gobble up acorns, which are poisonous to ponies and cattle. Apart from that, the hazards are few, and if you base yourself at New Manor Park, just outside Brockenhurst, the walking opportunities are endless. Just opposite the hotel, on the other side of Lyndhurst Road is the Balmer Lawn Road, which leads to Denny Wood, where tracks lead into the forest in every direction and your best friend can get muddy, filthy and exhausted.

The hotel is part of the von Essen group, which also owns Cliveden in Berkshire and The Royal Crescent in Bath. It’s a seal of quality that means exquisite food, good facilities and top class service. A contemporary glass extension belies the history: it was built in the seventeenth century and was reputedly a favoured hunting lodge of King Charles II. Viewed from the fields on the other side of the car park, among grazing deer and ponies, the elegant brick exterior is more traditional. Inside the décor is stylish, but classic and the food is modern English, with light dishes for the health-conscious and more substantial offerings for dog walkers who’ve worked up a hunger. Another post walkies pleasure is the hotel’s Bath House Spa, where there’s an outdoor hot tub, sauna, steam room, and swimming pool, and where signature treatments include herb and hay massages or mud baths. If you’re up for something more active, there’s an equestrian centre next door, where you can book lessons or hacking.

Rooms at the hotel start at £155 per night, plus £10 per day for dogs, which includes a hearty English breakfast and use of the Bath House Spa facilities. The hotel welcomes dogs in the guestrooms, lobby and lounge, where you can read the papers and order drinks. They can provide water, food bowls and toys for your dog. Go to www.vonessenhotels.com

Wild Scotland

If a 20-minute stroll is a little too surburban, perhaps a bracing trek in the Scottish Highlands is what you and your dog regard as a day well spent. Wilderness Scotland is an adventure travel company that offers a range of self-guided walking breaks, including one in the Ben Nevis and Glencoe area (trip 70), which is ideal for dogs. The four-star Kilcamb Lodge is on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, which is about ten miles from Fort William, plus a short ferry ride. Fort William is the nearest town to Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest peak. The hotel will drop you off for point to point walks, for a small fee, although a car is advisable because taxis are thin on the ground.

Wilderness Scotland provides an information pack with route notes, written by Scotland walking expert, Gordon Birnie, for walks that include the Steall Falls in Glen Nevis, the Lost Valley of Glencoe and more gentle walks in the woodlands of Ardnamurchan. There’s also Ben Nevis to conquer. The climb and descent takes between six and eight hours and is mostly on gravelled paths with some steep and rough sections in the middle.

There is a £5 per night charge for dogs, and prices start at £295 per person for three nights, including bed and breakfast accommodation and the walking routes notes and maps. The hotel owners will put some doggy treats in your room for arrival, and can provide extra towels if your pet has been swimming in the loch. Go to www.wildernessscotland.com

Alpine summer adventure

If that’s not challenge enough, then perhaps Headwater’s High Alps summer route would appeal to the hardier hound. If your dog has a passport under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS), they can accompany you to France without spending six months in quarantine. The walking break is based in the Chablais region on the Swiss border, where marked walking trails will take man and dog through summer meadows and glacial lakes under the shadow of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and the Swiss Alps. Baggage transfers will take the heavy load leaving you to walks from mountain hotel to hotel, which serve up wholesome mountain dishes like raclette with smoked mountain ham.

The High Alps Walk starts from £599 for two adults and a dog sharing, which includes a return car ferry, ten nights accommodation on a half board basis, all local transfers, walking maps/route notes, and bag transfers. It’s an extra £53 for dog travel expenses, and the holiday departs June 6-Sept 14. Go to www.headwater.com.

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