Doggy Days Out - January Edit

I've definitely found that since getting a dog I've been exploring more places and I've seen some truly beautiful places. At first I found I needed to adjust to the fact that having a dog with me limited what I could access, particularly at National Trust properties (not that I can imagine for a second why most of the properties don't want you to take a dirty smelly whirling ball of chaos into their beautiful old buildings).

However - I've found myself doing a lot more walking around grounds, instead of walking around old houses, and have seen some old places in new ways.

I thought I'd share one outing each month on here. Our walks aren't earth shattering in their excitement, but I try to get some pretty pictures and these walks are definitely an important part of my lifestyle now. I live in the South West of the UK, so the posts may be a little tiny bit biased towards this area...but I'm hoping it'll encourage me to explore more areas. I'll mostly tell the story of the visit in photos but if you have any questions just ask!

For today my doggy day out was at Buckland Abbey. The Abbey is steeped in history and is a National Trust property but for me the most amazing part of the Abbey is the incredible sense of peace and restfulness which just seems to surround the grounds. It was raining when we arrived...but that didn't put us off...and we were rewarded with a rainbow...

...and then the sun came out...yay! (although that lasted about 10 minutes)...

If you have a dog with you, you can't go into the Abbey, for obvious reasons - but you can see the Abbey as you walk around...

There are a few different walks you can take - depending on your stamina. We chose the shorter walk today (partly because a welcome addition to the rain was hail...woo!), and that took about 50 mins (allowing plenty of time for Indy to sniff everything in sight). The walk follows a path through some fields and then through a forest. It's absolutely beautiful, and there's a lot of wildlife to be seen...

...as well as beautiful views...

At the end of a long walk the reward is food and drink (hurrah!). If it's not raining or pelting tiny bullets of ice at you then you can eat with your doggy pal in the courtyard. Today the wiser choice was to shelter in a cute little room at the back of the courtyard which dogs are allowed in...bonus. 

The menu is pretty comprehensive - soup, paninis, jacket potatoes, sandwiches...all very lovely and warming.

Indy seemed to have a lovely day...he got to drag lots of sticks along the ground, eat part of a sausage roll, and get really, really, really soggy. Three of his favourite things...bonus.

This was just a super relaxing afternoon of walking, taking photographs, and eating comforting food. It was exactly what we all needed. We looked pretty terrible after the first downpour...so no photos of us...but we didn't even mind the rain.

If you're ever in South Devon and looking for somewhere to take your doggy pal I can honestly recommend Buckland Abbey. It's peaceful, beautiful and can either involve a short or long walk. Oh, and it has my favourite National Trust gift shop. I can't believe I almost forgot the gift shop!


I hope you enjoyed the photos of January's doggy day out...I'm already planning February's venue (and hoping for sunshine!).

Bye for now

xx