Walks

The Best Places for Dog Walks in Guildford

7th January 2020

Guildford is a great place to walk with your dog – being nestled within leafy Surrey and close to the Surrey Hills there are plenty of places where you and your dog can go for a walk and get out and about. You will also find lots of dog friendly pubs in Guildford, which means that you can find warm places to go after a cold winter walk or somewhere for a refreshing drink during the hot summer months. We have brought together some of the best places to go for dog walks near Guildford which we think you might enjoy.

1. St Marthas Hill

This great dog walk close to Guildford has the benefit of being away from busy roads, containing lots of trees and bushes for your dog to explore in, as well as having lovely views over the Surrey Hills. There are a number of dog walks which you can do around here, some much steeper than others. We usually park at the car park off Halfpenny Lane (GU4 8PZ) and walk with the dog around the church and back which has one or two steeper inclines but otherwise is relatively flat. You can choose to park at the Percy Arms and walk up from Chilworth (there is a footpath to the east of the pub past Lockner Farm), however this is a much more challenging walk! You would benefit from lovely views over the valley on this walk though. You could even make this a circular walk and go up past Chilworth Manor and then up the hill using the woods on the left side of the road, and then turn right and go past St Marthas Church before taking the path back down again. The Percy Arms allows dogs in the bar area which also has a few tables, but can be quite busy. In the summer they have a large beer garden which you can use and they have an interesting menu with a South African twist, so perfect if you are looking for somewhere a bit different to eat which is also dog friendly.

2. Albury Heath

This is a lovely wooded heathland to the Southeast of Guildford. The paths stay relatively dry and there are some views along one edge of the heath. It is not a huge area, so the length of your walk might be limited, but there are a number of paths you can take to make it longer if you wish to. We walked a 2 mile path around the outer edge which took around 45 mins. The heath is on the side of a hill so you may come across some quite steep paths. A free car park can be found near the cricket ground off Sandy Lane at GU5 9DB.

3. Bowers Nature Reserve

This is a great dog walk in Guildford especially during the summer months. You can walk around the lake and there is plenty of places for your dog to swim – just be careful of swans. There are cows grazing on the site but they are very used to dogs, and the A3 is quite close (and a bit noisy) but it is well fenced as far as we can see. This dog walk is quite flat and has mostly good paths so you could also get a pushchair around here and probably a wheelchair too. There is also a nature reserve at the side which has a boardwalk around a wetland which can be nice to meander through with your dog. You can park for free in the official car park on Bowers Lane (GU4 7ND) or you could park at the Spectrum (GU1 1UP) and cross over the A3 then access the lake via the River Wey path.

4. Wood Street & Broad Street Common

There are a number of places that you can walk near Wood Street, from the village green (GU3 3DZ)  and near the White Hart Pub (a short dog walk can be found here and a longer one here), and also from the car park next to Wood Street Infant School (GU3 3DB). The paths from this car park loop around onto Broadstreet Common, as well as going over the railway track and to the West into the countryside there so there are a lot of options for short or long dog walks in Guildford. 

5. Guildford Town River Wey Walk

Dog next to canalWe have detailed a long dog walk from Guildford here which talks in the River Wey from the centre of Guildford. There are a couple of options that you can take to make the walk shorter or longer, however it tends to be more of an out and back walk rather than a circular route. It is a lovely walk to do and often you will meet lots of other dog walkers who are also shopping in Guildford town centre or heading to one of the dog friendly pubs in Guildford such as the Britannia, George Abbot or The Keep. Some options for accessing the walks here include the car park in front of the Britannia (Millmead Car Park, Pay and Display, GU2 4BE), from Shalford Park Car Park (Pay and Display, GU4 8AA), from The Seahorse (GU4 8BU) and from Dagden Road (GU4 8DD) where some free on street parking is available.

6. Watts Gallery

The North Downs Way leads from behind Watts Gallery and heads into the countryside around Loseley Park. This is a lovely area to walk and doesn’t seem to be used too often. This dog walk could take you all the way into Guildford if you wanted to, otherwise you could take one of the many footpaths and quite lanes to create a circular walk around. Parking can be found in Watts Gallery (GU3 1DQ) during their opening hours (they do close the gates), or just in front of the gates if they are closed.

7. Newlands Corner

This is a favourite Guildford Dog Walk for many – on a clear day you can see for miles from the hillside and it’s a lovely place for a picnic. There are a number of trails which you can take and some great woods to explore as well which can keep you busy for both short and long dog walks. If you park in the main car park (Pay and Display, GU4 8SF) then there are toilets available, a cafe and also a visitor centre. Across the road you will find the Plucky Pheasant cafe which welcomes clean and well behaved dogs.

8. Whitmoor Common

This is one of our favourite places to walk as the paths are away from roads and there are a lot of routes you can take!! There are wooded areas and open heathland to walk through and often lots of other dog walkers so it’s great if you have a sociable dog. For all of these reasons we have included it as one of our 5 best places to walk your dog in Surrey in our blog here. The car parks are all still free (as of January 2020) and can be found off Salt Box Road (GU3 3LH), by the Church off Worplesdon Road (GU3 3RE) and next to the Jolly Farmer Pub GU3 3RN). 

9. The Chantries/Chantry Woods

These large 200 acre woods are on quite a steep hill but have good views from the top. You can walk your dog on a number of trails from here, heading up to Pewley Downs or across to St Martha’s Hill. There is a free designated car park at GU4 8AW.

10. Pewley Downs

These downs at the top of a hill are walkable from Guildford town centre. They are open grassland, but it is still possible to do a circular walk as the area is quite large. There are great views from here and you can take the path down to Chantry Woods and St Martha’s if you would like to. 2 hour free parking can be found on Pewley Hill Road (GU1 3SW) or Pewley Way (GU1 3QB).

11. Merrow Downs

Similar to Pewley Downs, this is a large open grassland area popular with dog walkers. Again it is possible to do a circular route around the outside of the downs, or you can pass the golf course and continue across to Newlands Corner, with the option to create many long dog walks in Guildford. Free on street parking can be found at Downside Road (GU4 8PH) or on High Path Road (GU1 2QL).

We will keep updating this blog with more dog walks in Guildford if we find any other great places where you can walk your dog in Guildford. Please do use the comments below and let us know if we are missing any of your favourites!!

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