Padstow

Padstow is a proper dog town, right up until you want dinner or a stretch of sand in August. Get the seasonal rules straight first and the rest of your visit runs itself.

Start with the Camel Trail. The flat, traffic-free path between Padstow and Wadebridge runs about five and a half miles along the old railway line beside the Camel Estuary, and dogs are welcome the whole way. It's shared with cyclists though, so don't assume you can let your dog off lead the entire route. Cornwall Council, which manages the trail, doesn't publish a specific lead law for it: the rule that applies is the general one for public rights of way, dogs must be kept under close control at all times, on or off the lead. In practice that means a lead on the busier stretches near Wadebridge and anywhere a bike could appear round a blind bend, and off lead only where you can see clearly and call your dog back reliably.

Beaches need more planning than the trail does. Harlyn Bay, just along the coast, has no seasonal dog restriction at all and is your safe year-round choice. Trevone Bay is different: Cornwall Council bans dogs there from 15 May to 30 September, 10am to 6pm, under its beach dogs Public Spaces Protection Order. St George's Cove, the small beach below the old holy well east of the harbour, has its own shorter ban, 1 July to 31 August, 10am to 6pm. Check the dates before you pack the towel, both are enforced, not just signposted.

For a proper leg-stretch with views, walk out to Stepper Point from Hawkers Cove car park. It's an easy mile and a half over grass and farm track to the old Day Mark tower, but the clifftop is unfenced in places, so keep your dog close, and on a lead in spring and early summer when ground-nesting birds are about.

Padstow's honest limitation is dinner. Rick Stein's The Seafood Restaurant, the destination table in town, only takes dogs at two designated tables in the conservatory, and only during set windows (12pm to 5pm, then from 8pm), bookable up to a week ahead, with resident hotel guests given priority. Turning up on spec with a dog and expecting a table is not realistic. Stein's Fish and Chips, just along the harbour, doesn't take dogs into its main dining room either, but its own website now describes a dog-friendly takeaway seating area next door, serving coffee, pastries and the full takeaway menu from 10am, a useful fallback if the restaurant's full or the weather's against you. For a more relaxed pint, The London Inn on Lanadwell Street says plainly on its own site that muddy boots and sandy paws are always welcome, a better bet after a wet Camel Trail walk than trying your luck at the Seafood Restaurant.

One practical tip: park once and walk. Link Road car park is close enough to the harbour, the trail head, and the town centre that you shouldn't need to move the car all day. If it's full in peak season, Tregirls Car Park on the north side of town is the overflow, and it puts you closer to St George's Cove and the coast path anyway.