Bishops Stortford Southern Country Park Dog Agility Walk

We love coming here! Free parking, relatively flat grounds, a children's play park with some seriously cool play equipment, and enough other dogs to have a decent canine party.

Park in the small car park on Thorley Lane. It's free, and gravelly so doesn't get boggy. Lead your dog though the gate, and you'll see the agility equipment on your left. East Herts Council got a lot of flack from the media for "wasting money" putting this stuff in, which is a real shame, because it's a real asset for dog owners in a county whose green space is being rapidly gobbled up for housing.

There are loads of solid, plastic agility pieces to try out - the A frame, the hoops, the hurdles, and a tunnel are my beagle's favourite. We can easily spend half an hour running around these. They're fine for big or small dogs, and sturdy enough to be used by even the hugest of hounds.

When you're done playing on the agility equipment, explore the country park. There is a lake (Often used by anglers, so be careful), a path up to a small church, plenty of little streams to paddle in, and acres of flat spaces for your dog to just run to their heart's content. There's a fenced off dog-free area for picnics, but I've never seen anyone in it.

At the end of the walk, if there are no children about, have a sneaky go on the zip wire in the play area - you know you want to!