Park and River in Newbury, a romantic dog walk in Berkshire

The historic market town of Newbury is a great location for a romantic dog walk in Berkshire. The town centre is vibrant and busy, while the surrounding areas with lovely cafes and the river Kennet are much quieter and invite you to walk around.

Adding in the beautiful countryside around the town, this hike offers a great mix of scenery for you and your pooch.

Distance	Total Time	Difficulty
2.86 km	00:42	Easy

Not far from Newbury, Donnington Castle is another excellent option for a dog walk in Berkshire. Check out our hike there.

When I say the walk is romantic, it is because the long boats and the cafes by Kennet and Avon Canal, Northcroft park, the bridges and the busy town centre all create a lovely atmosphere.

Newbury dates back to a Saxon settlement called ‘Ulvritone’ and was then called New Burgh, before eventually being called Newbury. I have added the link to the Newbury history page in the post notes at the bottom of this article.

Don’t forget to check the post notes at the bottom of the page, with maps, a detailed table about the hike and links to everything mentioned in the post.

The Hike

We started this hike in the car park near the Northcroft Leisure Centre. There are several car parks on this road (Northcroft Lane), and we used the RG14 1RS postcode to get there. It cost £1.70 for 2 hours. 

We turned left on Northcroft Lane and then left again into the park which also serves as a local cricket ground. This seemed a very popular area for dog walking. The gang walked towards the bridge over the river Kennet and followed the path until crossing a second bridge over the canal. 

The gang then turned left and followed West Mills towards the town. The girls, but especially Pequi, loved to see ducks and swans in the canal. With its beautiful canal views, boats and birds this was the highlight of the hike. 

Turning left again on the next bridge, we followed the back alleys until we got to Bridge Street. Being the weekend, it was full and vibrant, but we decided to get into the Northcroft Lane again, towards the car park. There were a number of cute cafes, and many of them seemed to be dog friendly. As it was early in the day, they were all closed or just opening.

Passing the car park we turned right now towards Goldwell park, which is on a slope. There wasn’t much to see there, but it gave a chance for the girls to sniff around. We then circled the park and went back to the car park.

Newbury overall felt like a very dog friendly town. There are many dog waste bins on this walk. 

If we go back, we would probably ignore the Goldwell park and explore the river and canal paths for longer.

It was indeed a “romantic” walk and the girls seemed happy on the way back home.

Cheers,

Ademar