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The Late Edition

London's evening edition. Independent, updated daily.

AnswerChecked 4 Sep 2026

Where can you take a dog in London?

Dogs are allowed in all eight royal parks off lead in most areas, on the canal towpaths and on the Heath. They travel free on the tube, bus and Overground, and a great many London pubs take them. They are not allowed in the big museums except as assistance dogs.

Where the space is

Hampstead Heath is the best of them: eight hundred acres, almost all of it off lead, and a dedicated dog swimming pond. Richmond Park is bigger still but has deer, so a lead is required in September and October during the rut and near the herds all year. Regent’s Park, Victoria Park and Battersea are all easy.

Transport

Dogs travel free on the whole network and do not need a muzzle. They must be carried on escalators, which rules out the deepest stations for a large dog, and the lift-served ones are worth checking first.

Inside

Pubs are the reliable answer and most independent ones say yes. Chains vary. Museums and galleries are a no beyond assistance dogs, and so are most food halls, which surprises people.

What is on

4 listings

  1. Sport Free

    Dogs on Hampstead Heath

    07:00 Hampstead Heath, Hampstead

    Eight hundred acres, off lead almost everywhere, and the one swimming pond dogs are allowed in is not one of the bathing ponds. Busiest at the Parliament Hill end on a weekend morning.

  2. Sport Free

    Dogs in Richmond Park

    07:30 Richmond Park, Richmond

    The largest of the royal parks and the one with the deer, which is why dogs must be on a lead in May and June and in September and October. The gates open and close with the light.

  3. Sport Free

    Dogs in Battersea Park

    08:00 Battersea Park, Battersea

    Flat, walled, and small enough to do a full circuit in half an hour, with the river along one side and a cafe at each end. The one park on this list you can reach on foot from a station.

  4. Food and drink From £6

    The Spaniards Inn

    12:00 The Spaniards Inn, Hampstead

    A 1585 coaching inn at the top of the Heath with a walled garden, a dog wash at the door and a long history of letting them in. Low beams, so mind your head rather than the dog.

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