Dog Friendly Cheltenham

Cheltenham is a genuinely dog friendly Regency town, laid out with tree-lined promenades, ornamental gardens and the Cotswold escarpment right on its edge. Dogs are welcome across the parks and gardens, in a great many pubs and cafes, and up on the open commons above the town. The main closed doors are the indoor attractions and the racecourse on event days, but there is easily enough outdoors to fill several happy days.

Yes. Dogs travel free on local buses at the driver's discretion, on a lead and off the seats, and up to two dogs ride free on the trains from Cheltenham Spa under the national rail conditions. The town centre is compact and walkable, linking the promenade, the gardens and Montpellier on foot, so many visitors barely need transport at all once they have arrived.

The best off-lead ground is up on the hills. Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common give open access land with huge views over the town, and Cleeve Hill, the highest point of the Cotswolds, is a vast common a short drive away. Both graze livestock, so keep your dog under close control and on a lead near animals. In town the parks are mostly on-lead spaces shared with families.

Pittville Park is the grand one, with its lakes and Regency pump room, and Montpellier Gardens and Sandford Park give pretty town-centre strolls. Cox's Meadow has open grass and a brook on the edge of Charlton Kings. For a proper hill walk, Leckhampton Hill and the Devil's Chimney rock formation reward the climb, linking onto the Cotswold Way for as far as you fancy going.

Yes, widely. UK pubs welcome dogs inside at the landlord's discretion, and Cheltenham does it well, especially around Montpellier where the Beehive keeps dog biscuits behind the bar. The DEYA taproom and many cafes welcome dogs too, often with a water bowl by the door. Food-led restaurants vary, so it is worth checking as you arrive, but a well behaved dog on a lead is a normal sight in most bars here.

Stroll the Promenade and the Montpellier gardens, take in the Neptune fountain and the Regency architecture, and browse the independent shops, many of which welcome dogs. Climb Leckhampton Hill for the view, or walk a stretch of the Cotswold Way that runs right past the town. Round it off with a dog friendly pub lunch. The racecourse and indoor venues admit assistance dogs only, so plan those separately.

Plenty, this being the gateway to the Cotswolds. Cleeve Hill and Crickley Hill give open common and country park walking with big views. The honey-stone villages of Broadway, Winchcombe and Bourton-on-the-Water are all dog friendly and within easy reach, most with a welcoming pub. Sudeley Castle's grounds and the wider Cotswold Way trail make for excellent longer walks straight out of town.

UK law requires your dog to be microchipped and to wear a collar with your name and address in public. You must clean up after your dog, and Cheltenham Borough runs a Public Spaces Protection Order that lets an officer require your dog on a lead, keeps dogs out of marked play areas, and carries a fixed penalty for breaches. On the hill commons, keep your dog under close control around grazing sheep and cattle.