A directory for Exmoor - doggy walks for owners and pets on holiday and living locally

Willow

Paws and Boots Guided Walks

Ebony

Welcome to the first Paws & Boots First Newsletter.

For those of you who don’t know us, we started in May 2005 and we provide escorted walks for doggies and their owners over the moors or through the woods of Exmoor and the Quantocks Hills. The walks are 3 – 4 hours in duration and are ambles, not rambles, of approximately 4 – 5 miles with like-minded people where you can be sure your dog will definitely be welcome! During the walks (or at the end) we like to stop at a dog-friendly tea garden or pub for delicious cream teas or light lunches and a Bonio or two for the four legged walkers. It’s a great way to socialise with other dog owners and maybe make new friends and our dogs also like meeting new people and making new doggy friends. If you’re on holiday it’s a good way of seeing some of the more ‘out of the way’ scenery without the risk of getting lost!

We operate all year round from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive – just phone when you fancy a walk, preferably giving us two days notice, and we can arrange something to suit you.

For that short period in our British summer when it may be too hot to walk out in the middle of the day we are planning walks in the cool or the evening, maybe along a riverbank with a lemonade (!) in a pub garden at the end.

Prices for normal walks are £10 per person, £5 for children under 16 and please give 2 days notice.

Walks for special events are also possible, for example last summer we were asked to do a 40th birthday walk for a lady who wanted to include her dog in the celebrations, so human birthdays or doggy birthdays, or any other special event to include your dog, family and friends, just let us know and we’ll arrange something to suit the occasion but we would like as much notice as possible, at least 6 weeks, to give us time to make any special arrangements and discuss pricing.

Apart from normal walks we are planning several events during 2006 and hope some of them may interest you. Full details and dates will appear in future newsletters and these events will need advance booking so if anything below interests you we would like to hear from you as soon as possible.

May 2006 - Bluebell Walk
As we did last year, we will again be supporting the charity Canine Partners, who train and supply assistance dogs for disabled people, by holding a free Bluebell Walk on the Quantocks. This will be held on a Sunday (exact date to follow) and will be a short, easy walk of approximately 1 hour to give people, children and dogs of all ages the opportunity to raise funds for this very special charity. Please give us a ring for sponsorship forms and more information.

If you would like to make a day of it we plan, after the Bluebell Walk, to drive to a local dog-friendly inn for Sunday lunch then a gentle 2 hour (level) walk stopping at the end for a cream tea (a little indulgence from time to time doesn’t hurt anyone!) Places for lunch and the afternoon walk will be limited therefore booking is essential. Cost for the afternoon will be £7.50 excluding meals.

If you would like to find out more about the work of Canine Partners please visit their website www.caninepartners.co.uk

Quantock Food Festival
Once again, as last year, we will hold a special walk to support the Quantock Food Festival and we can promise it will involve some lovely food from producers in the Quantock Hills area. Details will follow in the next newsletter.

Coleridge Way
The newly opened Coleridge Way runs for 35 miles from Nether Stowey on the Quantock Hills to Porlock on Exmoor and commemorates the association of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge with the area. While he was living at Nether Stowey he walked for miles every day and drew such inspiration from the beautiful West Somerset landscape that he wrote some of his most famous works such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (I’m sure we all remember learning that at school!) and, of course, Kubla Khan. There are a number of events planned to celebrate the Coleridge Way starting in May and culminating with a tie-in with the Somerset Art Weeks in September.

We have been asked to organise a walk as part of this season of events and we are working on this and will give details in the next newsletter. We’d love to know if you would be interested in this as soon as possible – it will help us plan something good.

Picnic on the Moor
Once a month we plan to hold a walk to include a picnic of delicious local goodies. Again, more details of this later. Pricing for this walk will be set to include the picnic.

Weekend Breaks
If you’re not living in this area but thinking of visiting for a few days we can recommend, free of charge, accommodation providers who actively welcome dogs. Give us a ring, let us know what you need from your accommodation and we’ll put you in touch with someone who can, hopefully, help you.

Dog Sitting
When you’re on holiday with your dog and you want to go out for a meal or somewhere dogs aren’t accepted and it’s maybe too hot to leave them in the car or you’re not allowed to leave them unaccompanied at your accommodation, it doesn’t mean you can’t go. We can look after your dog in our home for the day or evening. Prices on application.

Exmoor Food Festival
We will, once again, be supporting the Exmoor Food Festival in 2006 with a special walk and, of course,
some scrumptious food from the excellent producers on Exmoor.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this first Newsletter and that you’ll be tempted to join us, and our two dogs Ebony and Willow, on a walk or one or more of the special events. We shall produce a Newsletter quarterly and we’d welcome your participation with any thoughts, funny stories, interesting facts etc. so please get in touch with us – we’d love to hear from you.

Paws and Boots
Promoting the quality and beauty Somerset and Devon have to offer

Please contact Shaun Bryant - Tel: 01643 863002
email: knapp.cottage@virgin.net

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