Best Local Dog Walks in West Midlands

Figo and I don’t get up to the West Midlands as often as we’d like, but when we do, I’m always struck by how much green space is tucked in around Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Solihull and Sandwell — proper National Nature Reserves with free-roaming cattle, old abbey parkland, and city parks big enough that you can walk for an hour and barely cross your own path twice. It’s not the Peak District, but for a county this built-up, it punches well above its weight for dog walkers.

I’ve gone area by area below, and I’ve been strict with myself about what goes on the list. If I couldn’t find the current, official word on a park’s dog rules — not a blog, not a forum post from three years ago, but the council’s or managing body’s own page — I’ve left it out rather than guess, even where the spot is well-loved locally. I’d rather give you a shorter, trustworthy list than a long one with gaps you only discover when a warden’s pulled you up for something you didn’t know about.

Dog walks in West Midlands, by area

Birmingham city and Sutton Coldfield

A walk around Sutton Park pairs nicely with a stop after — see our guide to dog-friendly pubs, cafés and restaurants in the West Midlands for options nearby.

• Sutton Park (Sutton Coldfield, B73/B74) — At roughly 2,400 acres, this is one of the largest urban National Nature Reserves in Europe, with heathland, woodland and seven pools to explore. The park confirms that cattle and wild ponies graze freely across the land, so keep dogs under close control and on a lead if you’re anywhere near grazing animals. Birmingham’s general parks rule applies here too: dogs don’t need to be on a lead by default, but must be leashed on request, a maximum of four dogs per walker is allowed, and dogs are excluded from marked children’s play areas. Source: Birmingham City Council.
• Lickey Hills Country Park (Rednal, B45) — Birmingham’s oldest country park, covering around 524 acres of hills, woodland and heath. The same citywide park rules apply: no automatic lead requirement, but dogs must be leashed if asked, a four-dog-per-walker limit, and no dogs in fenced children’s play areas. Source: Birmingham City Council.
• Cannon Hill Park (Edgbaston/Moseley, B12) — A much-loved city park of around 250 acres, with a boating lake and nature trails. Covered by the same Birmingham-wide rules: dogs don’t need to be leashed by default, must be put on a lead if asked, four dogs per person maximum, and no access to fenced play areas or other posted restricted areas. Source: Birmingham City Council.

Solihull

• Elmdon Park (Elmdon, B92) — A green, well-used park close to the airport, with woodland, a lake and open grass. Solihull Council’s parks guidance asks owners to keep dogs on a short lead near play areas, waterfowl and other wildlife, keep dogs under control at all times, clean up promptly, and make sure dogs are microchipped and collared with an ID tag. Source: Solihull Council.
• Brueton Park and Malvern Park (Solihull town, B91) — These two adjoining parks form one of Solihull’s best walking loops, with a lake, woodland and a nature trail running between them. The same borough-wide guidance applies: short lead near play areas, waterfowl and wildlife, dog under control at all times. Source: Solihull Council.

Coventry

• Coombe Abbey Country Park (Coventry/Binley, CV3) — A big, varied park built around a former abbey and its parkland lake, with woodland and meadow walks. Dogs are excluded from the fenced children’s play areas, and there are designated “dogs on leads” areas within the park — follow on-site signage for exactly where. Coventry’s citywide Public Spaces Protection Order also applies, requiring owners to clean up after their dogs and to leash them if asked by an authorised officer. Source: Coventry City Council, Coombe Abbey Park Management Plan 2024–2028, and Coventry City Council PSPO.

Wolverhampton and the Black Country

If the lead rules and fenced-off water here aren’t what your dog needs, our guide to secure dog fields in the West Midlands covers bookable private fields with no shared water or crowds to manage.

• West Park (Wolverhampton city centre, WV1/WV6) — A classic Victorian city park with a boating lake and bandstand. Listed as one of the sites where dogs are not allowed in or around open water features, so keep dogs away from the lake edges where signed. The city’s general rules also apply: no dogs in fenced children’s play areas or fenced tennis courts, and dogs must be put on a lead if an authorised officer asks. Source: Wolverhampton City Council, PSPO (Dog Control) 2023.
• Northycote Farm and Country Park (Bushbury, WV10) — A working farm and country park with meadow and woodland footpaths. Dogs must stay on a lead on all footpaths; the old events field is dog-free; the overflow field allows dogs to run off-lead; there’s a dedicated area by the brook where dogs can go off-lead to drink and play. Source: Wolverhampton City Council, PSPO (Dog Control) 2023.
• Bantock Park (Merridale, WV3) — A long-established park with a walled garden, woodland and a playground. Listed among Wolverhampton’s open-water sites where dogs must be kept out of the water feature itself, alongside the general citywide rules on leads, play areas and tennis courts. Source: Wolverhampton City Council, PSPO (Dog Control) 2023.

Sandwell

If you’re often not around to walk RSPB Sandwell Valley yourself, our guide to dog walkers in the West Midlands covers vetted local options.

• RSPB Sandwell Valley (Great Barr/West Bromwich, B71) — A proper nature reserve in the middle of the Birmingham/Sandwell conurbation, with lakes, reedbeds and farmland trails, run by the RSPB. Dogs are welcome on a lead on the paths around the reserve (and even in the visitor centre), with water bowls provided, but owners are asked to keep dogs under close control so ground-nesting and wetland birds aren’t disturbed. Assistance dogs are welcome throughout. Source: RSPB, Sandwell Valley visitor information.

A few well-known West Midlands spots aren’t on this list, and it’s worth saying why rather than quietly dropping them. Saltwells Local Nature Reserve in Dudley, Walsall Arboretum and Barr Beacon are all genuinely popular with local dog walkers, but I couldn’t find a current, official page from Dudley or Walsall Councils confirming their site-specific dog rules to the standard I’d want before telling you to rely on it. Coventry’s own War Memorial Park didn’t make the cut for the same reason: a lovely park, but I couldn’t pin down its specific dog rules from an official source, only that the city’s general PSPO applies somewhere across its parks. If you walk any of these regularly and know the current rules, treat my caution as a gap in what’s published online rather than a problem with the park itself — and always check the gate signage when you arrive.

Before you go off-lead anywhere on this list

• Ground-nesting birds are most at risk from March to July, which is exactly why reserves like RSPB Sandwell Valley ask for close control even where dogs aren’t required to be on a lead — a disturbed nest can mean a lost brood.
• Where cattle or ponies graze freely, as at Sutton Park, keep your dog on a lead and give the animals plenty of space — they’re not used to being approached and a spooked cow is a genuine hazard.
• “Dogs on leads” signage at country parks like Coombe Abbey isn’t blanket — it applies to specific marked areas, so read the signs rather than assuming the whole park is the same.
• Fenced children’s play areas and water features are off-limits to dogs at pretty much every park on this list — one of the few rules that’s genuinely consistent across the whole county.
• If you’re heading somewhere new and your dog tends to get unsettled by unfamiliar places, crowds or other dogs, it’s worth popping a calming treat in your pocket for the car journey or the first few minutes off the lead — we always have a packet of Calmdogs’ calming treats handy for exactly this with Figo.
• And if your dog has a health condition that affects how far or how fast they should walk, have a chat with your vet about what’s sensible before you tackle somewhere new and hilly like Sutton Park or Lickey Hills.

For more on exploring the West Midlands with your dog, see our Dog Services in the West Midlands hub.