Portsmouth is a fine city to own a dog in. It is compact, ringed by water and laced with open green space, so a good walk is never far away, and plenty of its pubs and cafes are happy to see a wet nose at the door. Whether you live here with a dog or are visiting with one in the boot, here is how to fill a day in Portsmouth without leaving your four-legged friend behind.
Walks along the sea
The seafront is the obvious joy. The promenade runs flat and open for a couple of miles from Old Portsmouth to Eastney, with Southsea Common alongside it for off-lead charging about, and it is busy with dogs at every hour. Much of Southsea beach is dog-friendly out of the main summer season, when a stretch of it is restricted, so it is worth checking the current beach rules in high summer and heading for the Common or the eastern end if in doubt.
Up on Portsdown Hill
For a change of air and a proper view, Portsdown Hill is the dog walk locals save for the weekend. The open ridge north of the city gives miles of grassy paths between the old forts with the whole of Portsmouth laid out below, and it is as good a leg-stretch for a dog as it is a view for you. It links into the city’s wider network of coastal and country routes too.
Green space and nature
Beyond the seafront, the city and its edges hold plenty of open ground. The parks, the Rock Gardens and the ramparts of Old Portsmouth all take a dog happily, and just outside town the nature reserves and marshes towards Farlington and the country parks around Havant give you bigger, wilder walks when you want them. A dog is the best excuse there is to explore the coastal walks around the harbour.
Pubs and cafes that welcome dogs
All that walking deserves a sit-down, and Portsmouth is well served. A good number of the city’s pubs keep a water bowl by the bar and a treat jar on it, and our pick of the dog-friendly pubs is the place to start for a pint with your dog at your feet. Plenty of the seafront cafes will happily serve you outside with the dog alongside, which on a bright day is the whole point.
A few practical notes
A couple of things make a dog day go smoothly. Keep the lead handy for the summer beach restrictions and the busier stretches of the prom, use the bins dotted along the seafront, and carry water on a warm day, because the shingle and the open front throw back a lot of heat. “Bring a towel for the car,” as every Southsea dog owner learns, because a Portsmouth dog finds the sea sooner or later.
Making a day of it
String it together and a dog-friendly day in Portsmouth almost plans itself, a morning on the Common or the hill, a pub lunch with the dog under the table and an afternoon amble along the front as the light softens. It folds neatly into a round of free things to do in Portsmouth, since most of the best of it costs nothing but the price of a pint. Bring the lead, bring a towel, and let the city do the rest.
