Just a few miles outside of York, is gorgeous Beningbrough Hall. The hall is a beautiful baroque stately manor hundreds of years old and the gardens are absolutely phenomenal. I visited the hall once with some children I was working with and the gardens do a falconry exhibition that delighted the kids.
But this post isn’t about the hall. (As great as it is). This post is about the free, stunning walks that you can do around the property. You park in the Beningbrough Hall car park and then take one of the many paths that lead you around, usually following the meandering path of the Ouse.
The reason that we didn’t explore the hall on this occasion (and why you’re not getting a blog post about it) is because dogs aren’t allowed in the hall and gardens and we wanted to go on a mini-adventure with little Harold in tow.
He loves being out in the countryside. As a member of the hound family, he toodles along with his nose stuck firmly to the ground. I love watching him pick up a scent – he’s absolutely adorable when he does. All the same, he’s somewhat of a city dog. In York, even with all our lovely green spaces, it’s rare that he has the chance to be belly deep in the mud.
Though he never managed to be belly deep – though the mud went halfway up my shins at certain points in time. That’s the problem with wintery walks. We chose a day that was mild and bright but all the recent snow and rainfall turned everything into a mud pit. The parts of the trail that lay in shadow were the worst. In the first 20 minutes after mud going over the tops of my walking boots a solid few minutes, Sam and I were both tempted to turn back, but the joy it was bringing Harold made us persevere. Sam and I were caked in mud by the time we finished, though Harold was perfectly fine. With his big paws and his little legs, he managed to better distribute his weight so he managed to walk on top of the mud instead of sinking in.
During our walk we did manage to spot some oyster catchers and sand martins along the riverside. And Harold barked at them all.
Harold is such a little dude now. He loves going on walks and frolicking. What a difference a few months make! He used to lie down in front of our front door and refuse to move when we tried to take him out for walks. As a general Harold update: he’s still not really housetrained. (It’s common that dachshunds aren’t fully trained until they are close to their second birthdays, the stubborn little beasts). But he does know how to sit and shake hands. He loves destroying all his toys, and in a very cat-like manner, he finds the sunniest spot in the whole house to sit and stretch himself out in. I love him with my whole heart.
Just as a fyi: because the land on the walk is all tenanted and grazed, dogs are supposed to be kept on a lead so they do not spook, or are spooked by the cattle. You’ll see a lot of people ignore this rule, but I know someone whose dog went missing on a walk because they were walking her off the lead and she bolted when she was scared by a cow. Don’t take the chance with your little guys! I’d also advise that the paths aren’t suitable for buggies or pushchairs.
You can find full walk directions on the Beningbrough Hall website.
Have you visited Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire? What are your favourite countryside walks?
