Dog friendly Devon holiday accommodation
Meet Muttley. It's a dog's life: just one long Devon holiday!
Muttley's Devon dog walk of the moment
Your dogs will enjoy their holiday too! All our self catering accommodation is dog friendly. There's lots of room for dogs to romp about in front of the lodges and cottage and they are welcome everywhere on our Devon farm except the SSSI nature reserve. We can tell you about good dog walks and even lend you maps. The pub in the village welcomes dogs, as do several other nearby pubs.
Woof! I'm Muttley, and I'm always on holiday at Wheatland Farm cottage and lodges. It's great here coz lots of other dogs come for their holidays. Read on for my dog walk of the month.
I like playing with balls and kids. This is me with George, and my mate Molly, who came to stay on the farm. I often patrol around the lodges and cottage. I have to make sure those chickens don't bother people at their BBQs... But I'm a bit of a softy really.
Muttley says:
Of course, there are a few do's and don'ts when you holiday at Wheatland Farm cottage and lodges...
I'm not allowed in the nature reserve - can't think why - all those deer, foxes, pheasants, snipe etc are just dying to be chased - and what does it matter if I scrub up a few orchids while sniffing out a vole?
The humans pick up my poo with a bag and put it in a bin, at least when I do it near the accommodation. Now why on earth would they want to do that?
I'm not supposed to go in the ponds either - but personally I don't like getting wet.
All my mates bring their own beds and usually a throw for furniture - spoils the fun for other dogs if you ask me, but apparently some people don't like doggy sofas. Strange these humans...
You'll like it here coz you get to stay with your pack - dogs aren't left in the accommodation (some pups can't help having a good chew can they - and that gets expensive).
There's no cats - 'cept the neighbours' ones. Pity that. I wish people would bring their cats coz I love them. Couldn't eat a whole one though...
There are a few other rules, like not eating the free-range chickens and not bothering livestock, but if you come to visit you'll get all the details. If you want to check, sniff out the small print.
(I think there might have been another one about not rolling in badger poo - but hey, I can't be expected to remember everything all the time.)
Looking forward to sniffing you out soon!
Do's and don'ts for dogs at Muttley's Devon lodges and cottage
home t. 01837 83499, email info@wheatlandfarm.co.uk, Wheatland Farm, Winkleigh, Devon, EX19 8DJ.
Devon self catering cottage and eco lodges
Wheatland Farm
Here are a few ideas for days out near the farm and across North Devon where your dog can come too. For a really local start, most pubs welcome well behaved dogs at the bar, and the Kings Arms in Winkleigh is a lovely thatched pub that does good food and local beers and cider (Winkleigh's own cider).
If you've brought your dog on holiday you'll probably want plenty of countryside walks. We can give suggestions and lend you maps for the local area and also Dartmoor (just 11 miles away). If you've got an elderly dog that needs more even ground, there are several lovely walks on Devon's Tarka Trail, starting at the Puffing Billy at Torrington (more good pubs and cafes at hand!). Read more about all sorts of dog walks on our walking page, and scroll down for Muttley's 'dog walk of the moment'.
If ycu've been walking at nearby Eggesford or Heywood and want a to end up at a cafe, try Eggesford Gardens - a garden centre that positively encourages you not to leave your dog in the car, and even welcomes dogs in sections of their cafe. You'll find it signed from the road that crosses the railway track and the River Taw at Eggesford station.
National Trust properties are usually dog friendly, welcoming dogs in the grounds if not in the stately homes! The closest to us is Finch Foundry, in the village of Sticklepath. It's the last working water powered forge in England. There are nice walks along the edge of Dartmoor here too, and once again, dog friendly pubs.
Castle Drogo, designed by Edward Lutyens, is 17 miles from the farm on the edge of Dartmoor, and dogs on leads are welcome thoughout the estate and informal garden areas.
Other National Trust properties within striking distance are Killerton House (21 miles), Arlington Court and the national carriage collection (including the Speaker's Ceremonial Coach - wow!) about 27 miles from the farm and the gorgeous Lydford Gorge about 20 miles away- for a lovely and sometimes adventurous walk through the gorge to the famous white lady waterfall.
The village of Clovelly, about 30 miles from your holiday accommodation, is a major feature of the North Devon coastline. It's a privately-owned village and there's an entrance charge. But there's often events, and once you're there you can soak up the old time atmoshere.
The Big Sheep, near Bideford, is a family 'play park' type day out where there's plenty of shaded parking and some kennels where you can leave your dog if it's hot.
And finally, if you're heading further into North Devon there's always the beach. We don't sell ourselves as a beach holiday, because the nearest, at Westward Ho! is 40 minutes drive from the cottage and lodges. But it's perfectly doable as a day out. There are some dog restrictions in summer, but there's always a section where you can take your dog.
You can also take your dog to Summerleaze beach, at Bude, and on the southern section of Widemouth Bay all year round. Between them, Westward Ho!/Northam Burrows and Bude beaches are the closest to the farm.
Devon days out with your dog
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The human has been saving this one - apparently blue of bluebells is her favourite colour. It's another close-by dog walk into Hollocombe that you can reach by car, bike, or on foot from the farm.
We set off across glorious grassland rich with clover, campion, awash with a snow of white dandelion clocks and dotted with stichtwort in the hedgerows. Strong whiff of fox here-abouts too... The path is well-marked though I had to wriggle under some gates - I think old two legs was just too lazy to open them for me. There's a fallen down cob barn, but I wasn't allowed to go exploring. Another seemed to be just a chimney stack - good for jackdaws but they stay well out of reach of dogs, more's the pity.
Then it's down a short lane, a right turn onto another track. The spring flowers are like a garden border here in the hedgerows and fill them up with vibrant colours. Need a bit of garlic? Ransomes grow along one side of the track. Take another gate into a field, and across another(horses here, behind well-laid hedges that bloom with blackthorn earlier in the year.) And then you're almost in the wood. There's another gate, then a fantastic barrel of a path through a deep-sided track overhung with trees. I get let off the lead here and oddly I don't seem to be able to hear anybody shouting 'come here Muttley you 'orrible dog' for quite a while. Must be the acoustics.
But this is the woodland at the heart of this dog walk - awash with bluebells in May. Even I was delighted. You hit a path running close to Hollocombe Water and turn left for a bit, continuing through woodland. These are the beautiful delicate native bluebells, not the Spanish incomers.
Then there's another well-marked track heading back up the wooded hillside. It comes out on the road, past patches of primroses still lighting up the bank. We turned left and headed back up hill to the start point. A bit of a slog when you have to pull your owner too, but worth it for the biscuit at the end.
And if your human forgot to pack their own biscuit, they can stop off at the farm shop for a coffee and cake on the way home. Pick a nice day so you can sit outside with your dog at the picnic tables, and make sure you drop a bit of icing...
This Devon walk starts about a mile from the cottage and lodges. You can borrow a bike, walk or drive - just take care not to park blocking the gates where the walk starts. Turn left out of our drive, go past the farm shop, then right down towards Hollocombe before you reach the main road. Enjoy the flowers in the hedges! There's room to park a car opposite the footpath sign - you set off through the gate. Take a lead because you'll be going across pasture where there may be livestock. OS Explorer map 127.
Bluebells in Hollocombe
View Bluebells in Timbridge Wood in a larger map