A dog-friendly weekend in Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a good town for a dog. It is small enough to cross on foot, it has a proper hill on one side and several thousand acres of flat, open wetland on the other, and its High Street has the sort of relaxed attitude to a lead in a doorway that you do not always find in prettier, primmer places.
What follows is how we would plan a weekend here with a dog — the walks, the things worth checking before you set out, and the practical business of finding somewhere pet-friendly to stay.
Start with a base you can walk out of
The single thing that makes a dog weekend easy or difficult is where you sleep. A central base means the first walk of the day starts at the front door rather than in a car park, and it means you are not driving after dinner.
What to look for in pet-friendly accommodation:
- A door onto some outdoor space. Not a garden necessarily — a deck or yard is plenty for the last ten minutes of the evening.
- Hard floors downstairs, or at least somewhere sensible to put a wet dog after the Levels in February.
- Self check-in. Arriving with a dog and a full car is much simpler when it does not need to be timed around meeting anyone.
- An honest pet policy. Number of dogs, whether they can be left alone in the property, any extra charge. Better to read it than assume it.
Ours, for what it's worth: No. 48 Magdalene Street is a one-bedroom cottage in the centre of Glastonbury where pets are welcome. There is a private deck at the back, free on-street parking, and self check-in by lockbox. It sleeps two.
Saturday morning: the Tor
Glastonbury Tor is the obvious walk and a genuinely good one with a dog. It is open access land in the care of the National Trust, free to visit, and dogs are welcome — on a lead, because there is often livestock grazing the slopes, and the sheep are not there for decoration.
From the middle of town it is roughly fifteen minutes' walk to the base of the hill, then the climb. The Well House Lane path is steeper and quicker; the Stone Down Lane approach is longer and kinder on the legs, and easier if your dog is elderly or you are carrying a small one. Take water for both of you in summer — there is none at the top — and take a layer more than you think you need, because the wind up there is a local institution.
The reward is the whole of the Somerset Levels laid out flat and green in every direction, which is worth the climb even on a grey day.
Saturday afternoon: the Levels
For a completely different kind of walk, head out onto the Somerset Levels — the flat wetland country north and west of the town, threaded with droves, rhynes and old peat workings. It is level walking, endlessly open, and quite unlike anywhere else in England.
A word of care: the Levels include several important wetland nature reserves, and they are important precisely because of the birds. Dog access varies from site to site — some welcome dogs on leads on defined paths, others restrict them in nesting season, and some areas are closed to dogs entirely. Check the individual reserve's own guidance before you go rather than assuming, and keep to marked paths. Get that right and it is one of the best flat walks in the West Country; get it wrong and you will spend the afternoon apologising to a warden.
Sunday morning: the town itself
Glastonbury High Street is a pleasant hour with a dog on a lead. It is almost entirely independent shops, and a good number of them take a friendly view of a dog waiting inside the door — though as ever, ask rather than assume. Several cafés and pubs in the town welcome dogs in at least part of their space, and policies change with ownership often enough that it is worth a quick look at each place's own page or a phone call before you commit to a table.
For the historic sites, the picture is mixed and worth checking directly:
- Glastonbury Tor — dogs welcome, on a lead near livestock. Free.
- Glastonbury Abbey — check the Abbey's current policy before visiting; assistance dogs are always admitted, and the position on other dogs has varied.
- Chalice Well Gardens — a small, quiet garden run by a trust; check their published policy before arriving with a dog.
The general rule in Glastonbury: outdoors and uphill, dogs are fine. Indoors and ticketed, ask first.
Sunday afternoon: one step further out
If you have the afternoon, two directions are worth the short drive. West towards the coast, where the beaches around Burnham-on-Sea and Brean give you miles of flat sand — noting that many English beaches carry seasonal dog restrictions between roughly May and September, so check the local council's signage. Or north into the Mendip Hills, where the country above Cheddar and Wells is proper hill walking with big views and, generally, a warmer welcome for dogs than anywhere ticketed.
What to bring
- A towel, and then a second towel. The Levels are wet and the Tor is muddy for much of the year.
- A lead you are happy to keep on — livestock is common on the Tor and across the Levels.
- Water and a bowl for the Tor climb; there is nothing at the top.
- Your dog's bed or blanket, which does more for a settled night in a strange house than anything else you can pack.
A note on festival week
Dogs are not permitted on the Glastonbury Festival site. If you are visiting the area during festival week with a dog, the town and the countryside around it are the whole of your weekend — which is not a bad weekend at all, and considerably quieter than the fields. Our Festival 2027 page covers staying in Glastonbury during that week.
Two nights is enough for the Tor, the Levels and the town at a comfortable pace. Three, and you can add the Mendips or the coast without ever feeling like you are rushing a dog around Somerset — which rather defeats the point of bringing one.