Dogs in the Cotswolds: the rules

Dogs are welcome almost everywhere in the Cotswolds, and the rules come down to four: keep the dog on a lead around sheep, cattle and horses; on open access land, which includes the big commons, keep it on a lead no longer than 2m from 1 March to 31 July and near livestock all year; if cattle come at you, let the dog go; and bag and bin the poo everywhere, which in Cotswold District is an offence not to. Most pubs, the National Trust's parkland and the Cotswold Way take dogs; the formal gardens and the houses mostly do not. This page is the rules and the reasons. The pubs, walks and gardens that welcome dogs are in the dog-friendly Cotswolds and dog-friendly walks.

The Countryside Code

The code asks you to keep your dog under effective control, which it describes as on a lead or in sight and certain to come back when called, and never straying off the path or the land you have a right to be on. It says it is good practice to use a lead around livestock wherever you are, and that on open access land and at the coast you must; that a farmer can shoot a dog that is attacking or chasing livestock and may owe you nothing; and that you should check local signs, because some places require a lead for all or part of the year and some bar dogs altogether apart from assistance dogs (the Countryside Code, GOV.UK, updated 26 May 2023 (opens in a new tab)). The Cotswolds National Landscape adds its own ask: a lead unless a sign says otherwise, because the grassland holds ground-nesting birds, adders and rare plants, and at least 10m from grazing animals, which can catch diseases from dog poo (walking with a dog, Cotswolds National Landscape (opens in a new tab)).

Cattle: let the dog go

If cattle or horses come towards you, drop the lead and let the dog go. The code is plain: let your dog off the lead if you feel threatened by livestock or horses, and do not risk getting hurt protecting it, because releasing the dog makes it easier for you both to reach safety. It also warns that animals with their young are the most unpredictable, so give cows with calves a wide berth, walk round a herd rather than through it, and never pass between a cow and her calf. The National Trust's advice for its commons is the same: a short lead around sheep, but if cattle approach, let the dog off the lead and call it back when it is safe.

Open access land and the commons

On open access land the lead rule is law, not advice: a lead of no more than 2m from 1 March to 31 July, to protect ground-nesting birds, and at all times around livestock, with other local or seasonal restrictions possible; the rule does not apply on a public right of way crossing the land, nor to assistance dogs (use your right to roam, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)). In the Cotswolds that means the commons. Minchinhampton Common and Rodborough Common above Stroud are grazed by cattle that wander the roads and the golf course alike, with right of way over both; after several cows died on the commons in 2026, one hit by a car near The Bear on Rodborough Common, road safety there was put under review (Minchinhampton Parish Council, September 2026). Cleeve Common, the highest ground in the Cotswolds, is grazed by sheep and by cattle in an unfenced paddock all year, and the Cleeve Common Trust asks for short leads around all livestock; in autumn 2026 it asked walkers to look out for three lambs missed at the round-up. Dover's Hill above Chipping Campden, Painswick Beacon, Selsley Common and Haresfield Beacon are open hilltops too and often grazed, so look for the access land signs, keep the dog on a lead near livestock, and on access land put it on from March to July whatever the dog is like. Stroud District Council, which looks after Selsley Common, reminds walkers that a lead no longer than 2m is a legal obligation there from 1 March to 31 July, and cattle graze it from mid-May.

Lambing and the spring

Lambing in the Cotswolds is in late winter and spring, and a ewe chased by a dog can be hurt or lose her lambs, which is why farmers put up the hand-painted signs and why the Countryside Code warns that a farmer can shoot a dog attacking or chasing livestock. From February to the end of July treat every field with sheep in it as a lead field, keep the dog on the path side of you, and shut every gate behind you; a gate left open loses a flock. The sheep are often on the Cotswold Way itself and the wold tops around Guiting and Naunton; a lead through the field and off at the stile is how everyone here walks it.

The National Trust and the gardens

The National Trust gives each of its places a pawprint rating for dogs and prints it on that place's page. Its Cotswold parkland and commons (Dover's Hill, Minchinhampton and Rodborough, Haresfield Beacon, Woodchester Park) take dogs on the usual lead rules; Hidcote is rated two pawprints and takes dogs on short, fixed leads everywhere but the Old Garden and the manor house; Snowshill Manor's own dog page rates it assistance dogs only, so check before you take a pet dog. Ratings change, so the page for each place is the thing to trust on the day. Of the private gardens, Sezincote, Rodmarton, Bourton House and Miserden take no dogs, Sudeley Castle allows them only at the visitor centre and the Pavilion Café, not in the castle or gardens, and Westonbirt, Painswick Rococo Garden (all year on short leads, with dogs free on 7 to 8, 14 to 15 and 21 to 22 November 2026), Colesbourne on its snowdrop days and Cerney House welcome them on leads; at Westonbirt they can run off the lead in Silk Wood but are not allowed in the Old Arboretum.

Dogs on trains and buses

GWR carries up to two dogs per passenger free, on a lead or in a rigid carrier, off the seats and out of the space other passengers could use, and assistance dogs with Passenger Assist on 0800 197 1329 (GWR, travelling with animals (opens in a new tab)). Pulhams, who run the 801, 855, 606 and X52, sell a dog ticket on board: £1 a single, £2 a day, on any local bus except the 99; assistance dogs go free, dogs stay off the seats (a lap is fine), anyone with more than two dogs should check with the driver, who may also say no if another dog is already aboard, and the customer line is 01451 820369 (Pulhams, dog-friendly travel (opens in a new tab)). Stagecoach says a pet dog can usually travel on its buses, at the driver's discretion, and assistance dogs at all times (Stagecoach, pets on the bus (opens in a new tab)). The routes are on the buses page.

In the towns: bags, bins and the order

Cotswold District Council's Public Spaces Protection Order 3/2025 makes it an offence not to pick up after your dog at once on any public road, footpath, towpath, verge or pedestrian area, any council-run park, play area, sports ground or car park, and any cemetery or churchyard in the district, which runs from Chipping Campden to Tetbury and takes in Bourton, Stow, Bibury, Northleach and Cirencester. The fixed penalty is £100, or £75 within 14 days, and a court can fine up to £1,000; registered blind people and those relying on an assistance dog trained by a listed charity are exempt. The order runs for three years from 2025 (PSPO 3/2025, Cotswold District Council (opens in a new tab)). Stroud District Council has its own fouling order, with others that put dogs on leads or keep them out of some places, extended for three years from 18 October 2026; other neighbouring councils publish theirs online. A bag can go in any public bin, and the Countryside Code's line on leaving a bag by the path to collect later is never.

Water, heat and the nearest vet

The wold tops have no shade and no water: a summer walk from Guiting Power or over Cleeve Common is two hours on open limestone grassland between drinks, so carry water for the dog and walk early. The rivers help lower down (the Windrush at Bourton and the Slaughters, the Coln at Bibury, the Eye, the By Brook at Castle Combe), though not every stretch is yours to let a dog into, and the trout farm's water is not. For a vet, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Find a Vet (opens in a new tab) lists every practice by place, with out-of-hours cover; the market towns have practices, and your accommodation will know the nearest emergency service.