Tag Archives: urban

Coalhouse Fort Park, Tilbury

Been a while since we’ve been somewhere new. Today we visited the north side of the Thames and when to Coalhouse Fort. It’s a pity the Fort itself is locked up as I know the heritage there would interest people, but a nice bit of a walk all the same.

OK after wet weather – yes
Parking fee – no
Toilets – yes
Café – yes

St Mary’s Island, Chatham

View of the Medway from St Mary’s Island

We haven’t been this way for at least a year or so and now a new housing block has sprung up. We looked at the display homes about 3 years ago – which inspired us to move to our current home. Those houses where nice enough but had too many stairs for a dachshund and too many bathrooms for me (I hate wasted space on extra bathrooms, people can share, you don’t need one for every bedroom.) I like St Mary’s Island but there are no corner shops and it feels too suburban so we didn’t look to buy there. I like to be near a train station. It’s great for a walk though. We must have got the right time as lots of people were out walking their dogs. We met a Cyprus rescue dog who’d eaten all the owners Celebration chocolates out of the wrappers and was taking a daily dose of charcoal for his sins.

We park on the street along Island Way East, near where the walking avenue heads to the shore line. Marked with a cross on the image above. We walk down the avenue to the river then go left or right. Go left: you’ll walk past Upnor Castle and come to the docks, keep walking round and you get to the shopping centre, you can do a full circle and come back along the main road. Go right: you’ll eventually go through some streets but you’ll come to grassy hills and you’ll find walking tracks through the centre of the Island, in amongst the trees.

Take your dog to the cinema?

Ashford’s Elwick Place Picturehouse: the only cinema in Kent where you can watch films with your dog

A town centre cinema has hosted its first dog-friendly screening.

The Picturehouse Cinema in Elwick Place, Ashford, invited dog owners and their beloved pets down to a special viewing of Pick of the Litter – a documentary following the training of Guide Dog puppies.

The furry film-goers were treated with water bowls, blankets to lie or sit on and dog treats, while lights were kept on and the volume reduced to improve their viewing experience. Representatives from Ashford’s Guide Dogs branch also attended, welcoming guests to the cinema.

The special screenings are expected to continue, taking place on the second week of each month. Other curated film experiences at the Elwick Road complex are designed for people with autism and dementia.

For screening times and information on future events, visit https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/Ashford_Picturehouse/

from Kent News Online.

I want to live in Denmark – New-build apartment block in Denmark has communal dog washing facility in the gardens

Landlords having mostly failed to get the memo about dogs being man’s best friend, a Danish developer is building an apartment block exclusively for dog owners.

The three-story complex in Frederikssund, Zealand, about 45km from Copenhagen, should be finished within the next 12 months and its 18 rented flats will be reserved for tenants with dogs, the local Frederiksborg Amts Avis newspaper reported.

“There’s a real demand,” developer Niels Martin Viuff told the Ritzau news agency. “People are tired of the fact that there are so many places where you cannot have a dog. We’d like to welcome dog owners. Many of them feel a little lonely.”

Viuff, who consulted the Danish kennel club on the apartments’ design and canine-friendly features, said he and his partner Palle Søegaard hoped the Doghouse, as it will be known, would also foster a strong community spirit among residents because they will share a common passion.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Lise Lotte Christensen, a behavioural consultant at the club, the country’s largest association for dog owners, told the paper. “It’s super exciting, it’s innovative, and we look forward to following the project as it evolves.”

Christensen said the flats would feature hard-wearing, easy-to-clean floors. “Dogs wear things out. They have their winter outdoor footwear on all year round,” she said. “They don’t take their shoes off in the entrance.”

The complex will also have a communal dog-washing facility in the gardens, which would be designed to take account of the fact that dogs are not great respecters of plants, she added.

Viuff said he would want to meet prospective tenants and their dogs before signing the lease. Residents with more than one dog would be welcome as long as the dogs were small, but the very biggest breeds, weighing more than 45kg, would be refused because the apartments were not big enough.

Cat owners, too, would be discouraged, for obvious reasons. But if the Doghouse proved successful, a Cathouse might follow. “I could imagine we might build an apartment block for cat owners,” Viuff said. “It’s on the drawing board.”

Dunorlan Park

We went back to Tunbridge Wells, Dunorlan Park this morning. It’s quite different on a hot summers day. We got in early and there weren’t many people about. Couscous got to paddle in the lake so that was a plus. Met another dachshund running around with endless energy – Couscous quite the opposite, although she did a better job at running up the hill than I did!

 

New Years Day 2016

On New Years Day we spent a couple of hours at Greenwich. We walked through the park to the markets and back again. On the way an American woman stopped us and called her family over. It seems the youngest daughter has always wanted a wire-haired dachshund (has posters all over her room – good taste). Couscous got her favourite thing – attention.  I hope the family are well on their way to bringing a dachshund into their family some day.

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Danson Park, London, again

A winter favourite for us.

Danson Park Nov 2015 (1) comp

Disco Dog

Disco Dog is possibly the greatest pet product ever 

discodog

This video is a must for all dachshund lovers.

Brockwell Park, London

A couple of weeks ago we wanted to go to West Norwood cemetery in South London. When we got there we realised it was a No Dogs cemetery. So instead we found a local park nearby – Brockwell. Nice park and great cafe. Yet the weather was rubbish and it started to rain and Matt tore a muscle running round with CC. Then it took twice as long to drive home through south London. So won’t be doing that again. Next time Greenwich Park will be fine.

  • OK after wet weather – yes
  • Parking fee – no
  • Toilets – yes
  • Café – yes

map

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Dunorlan Park, Kent

This park is very popular with dog owners and families with small children. We read complaints re the number of dogs off lead and excess dog poo. There were more dogs off lead than we normally see but it wasn’t a problem for us. And re the poo – of course the minute we get out of the car Couscous does the sloppiest poo she has done in a long time so I made a real effort with newspaper and water to clean it all up. We went after lunch so perhaps would try a morning next time (less children??). Easy to walk around and lots of interesting paths. Birds, lake, cafe and all that. I liked it and Couscous got into the spirit of it after a few hellos from other walkers (very important for her).

  • OK after wet weather – yes
  • Parking fee – no
  • Toilets – yes
  • Café – yes

map

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