Traveling with your dog

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cottonn

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Hi all

Me and my other will be taking a trip down to Cornwall for a long weekend and will be taking our Springer Oscar with us.

The journey is going to take around 3 1/2 hours. Oscar is always in and out of the car with me during the day so is pretty use to traveling but not long distance like this. We have planned to take as many stop off breaks as possible and we won't be leaving until midday so he will be out having a nice run around in the morning before we set off.

Has anyone got a tips for the journey or recommendations of good places to stop off and let him do his business and have a stretch. Thanks in advance all.

Edit: Sorry I should mention that we will be traveling from the New Forest to Cornwall via the A35/A30.
 
I'm used to living in the middle of nowhere so that length of journey is nothing to us! I don't stop anywhere special, tbh a service station is fine, so I let them out for a pee, offer them some water and off we go again :)
 
Yeah, i also wouldn't consider this a particularly long journey. As long as my dog has had a good walk before we set off and is comfy in the car he usually sleeps the whole way apart from the occasional stop at service station or layby for 10 mins leg stretch and toilet break.
 
I wouldn't consider at long - mine do 14 hours including a ferry trip regularly. A few loo breaks and offer water and they're fine.
 
Same as everyone else! I used to do Hertfordshire to SW Scotland regularly and now I live here I sometimes go the other way. Its 7hours and I often only stopped once at Scotch Corner services. Dogs always fine
Living so far out we also travel 3hours or so to go eventing. Just no problem. Have a good trip.
 
I often do 5-6hrs from Scotland to Hertfordshire, hate stopping so unless I need to we just drive on through, he sleeps the whole way and he gets a good walk at the other end. If he needs something then he wakes and lets me know. He has water at all times in his crate.
 
I do Scotland / Coventry or even London(ish) area with mine. We stop mainly for MY comfort breaks (small bladder) and sometimes the dogs aren't bothered to go out. They're happy in their crates snoozing away. I'll be taking them to IOW and expect we'll stop maybe 3 or 4 times at m'way services. They all have pretty good dog walking areas nowadays.
 
OK so if you are coming down the A35 you will then come along down through the outskirts of Bridport, yes? then on through Chideock, then across the Devon border, yes??

I'm just trying to visualise the route!

IF coming this way....... then there are some opportunities. If going through Chideock, go through the village and up the hill the other side. Just as you get to the brow of the hill there is a tiny little turning on your left, up a rutted lane (you have been warned). Go up there and there is a lovely woodland walk and you can do a circular route which will take you say 40 mins or so. Lovely! But you will need to watch for the turning.

Then if you go on across the Devon border, and come down very nearly into Axminster (past the pub/Lyme Regis turning on your Left and another junction on your right) - then at the NEXT turning on your left, think its signposted Seaton (not sure), you can go up to Trinity Hill where there is an open piece of countryside and some woods. Probably not even a mile, if that. Lovely woods, and you can easily get back on your A35 again. If you DO go on along that road, you will come to Hugh Fernleigh Whittingstalls' "River Cottage HQ"!!

But if you don't fancy that; go along the A35 PAST Axminster on your right, over the river & railway line, and then you get to a place called "Kilmington". There is a farm shop/pub, X-roads, garage etc. Just past this, as the road curves to the right, there is a little road on your left hand side. Go up there and you will come to some lovely woods. You CAN do a loop and come back on the A35 a bit higher up, depends on where you've set your sat-nav to. This again is easy to do, just off the road, not even five mins off.

Then if you stay on the A35 you go on through Wilmington, up the hill, down the valley, outskirts of Honiton and onto the main A30..........

There IS one little place which is near to me which is literally just a spit off the A30 just between Honiton and Exeter. It isn't a long walk, and is usually chock-a-block with other dog walkers, BUT it is a nice little patch of ground and very handy to the A30. If you are interested in this, PM me and I'll let you into the secret! Its very handy. Alternatively if you go along that B3180 there is some common land further on - but sometimes there are ponies on a grazing project so that can be a bit unpredictable (the bleddi things are!!).

Alternatively, if you drive on down through the Exe Valley and over the River, there is Haldon Hill just West of Exeter - a big swathe of forest near to Exeter Racecourse. Any of the little roads off there will take you into dog walking territory, but be aware there are two major roads in the area so not really possible to let doggy off-lead (I don't with mine).

Hope this helps. PM me if need.
 
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