I've been dying to take Parker to the beach since I brought him home, so last week we set course down to the coast for a few days for our 2nd holiday together!
Our first dog friendly holiday was camping, and although he was a very good boy considering he was six months, this time I upgraded us to a little cabin as I'm not the biggest tent fan. I have family in Bournemouth as well, so we wouldn't be alone and could get advice on where to go.
The rain scuppered our plans a little but we still managed to fit in some beach trips, and some good food and wine, so we were both happy!
We stayed in the loveliest little place called Mudeford Beach Retreat that I booked on Air BnB, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay again. It had everything we needed and was about a 10 minute walk from a dog friendly beach. You can tell a lot of thought and care has gone into it, and no expense spared. I definitely recommend it if you're staying in the area with your pooch (or without!). There is a no dogs on the bed policy so I recommend taking your dogs bed as well.
We arrived for check in at 3pm and after we were sorted (I'm one of those people that likes to unpack when they arrive) we headed literally next door to a very conveniently placed pub called The Sandpiper to meet my family for a drink before we set on our way. We took a walk down the beach front at Mudford Quay (not dog friendly so Parker stayed on the lead) and got some drinks and food in a little pub called The Haven House Inn.
My auntie had phoned ahead to ask if dogs were allowed and they said "we allow dogs not children" so my hopes were high, it sounded like my kind of pub! It was a quaint little pub and the people where nice enough, but I would be shocked if the 'Aberdeen Angus Burger' wasn't a bit of an oversell for a frozen burger and we found out the next day we'd be charged for our mains and an extra portion of chips each. Considering one of us ordered 'Fish and Chips' and two ordered burgers (which you assume come with chips) it was a bit disappointing. That said, it was a nice place, just maybe keep an eye on your bill.
We then headed back for the night and I caught Thor on TV so I was quite happy to settle in with Parker (who is named after Thor's mate Spider-man as we are big Marvel fans!).
On day two we met at the Urban Beach restaurant and boutique hotel which is a lovely dog friendly place in Boscombe. I had a hot chocolate topped with the most delicious foam (I could have drunk a mug of foam in all honesty) and Parker had some water and some treats from the super dog friendly staff. I always carry around a collapsible travel bowl when we go out as I went to a dog friendly pub once and they gave us water in a small Tupperware container which was not ideal! But they offered us a bowl so they do have them if you don't have one.
The heavens opened while we were there so although my picnic plans were rained off, we drove to Boscombe Beach and had lunch in my uncles camper van. Parker was good as gold and let us eat in peace in exchange for cheese and ham at regular intervals! Boscombe is not a dog friendly beach, so we headed off for a walk at Hengistbury Head once the weather picked up.
Definitely a dog friendly location, we bumped into three dogs just out the car park. We headed off on a little walk where we bumped into more dogs (both me and Parker were loving life at this point) and ended up at the most gorgeous area of the beach.
He absolutely loved it! It made me so happy seeing him so happy, and I can't wait to take him back to the beach again. I'm very lucky that he travels really well and just snoozes on the back seat, so more beach trips are definitely in our future.
Then it was back home to wash off the sand and we had dinner next door at The Sandpiper. The food was great and bonus that Parker was allowed inside. As I knew we would be longer as were having a few drinks and courses (have to treat yourself on holiday!) I took a chew toy and a couple of treats for Parker and he settled down in a spot between the table and wall and we had a lovely evening.
A slow start to day three we had a little chill in the cabin and my family came over to meet us here. We then walked to the beach at Steamer Point, about 10 minutes from the place we were staying and dog friendly! Parker had a great time again and we bumped into a lovely couple with their dogs who ended up throwing their ball for Parker which wore him out (he is absolutely ball obsessed so I tend not to take them out with us, but he just manages to find them or steal them from other people!).
For dinner we went back to the Urban Beach restaurant and had a delicious dinner and some wine to round off our trip. Parker again was well fussed and had a great time, and there were other dogs there so I 100% recommend if you're looking to go somewhere with your dog.
We headed back Wednesday morning and I think in accommodation this size that was probably the right length of time. I could probably have done longer without beach trips but its hard to live in a small space AND keep sand out (and dogs don't understand to keep sand out!). If I was going back to the area though I would definitely stay here again and bring Parker back as Bournemouth is definitely dog friendly!
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