Studland Bay (Knoll Beach)

Studland Bay stretches for four miles along the eastern edge of the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, from Shell Bay in the north to South Beach near Old Harry Rocks — almost entirely soft sand backed by dunes and lowland heathland forming part of the Studland and Godlingston Heath National Nature Reserve. The National Trust manages the whole area, and Knoll Beach provides a cafe with outdoor dog friendly seating, toilets, a shop, and water bowls. The Sandbanks chain ferry offers access from the Poole and Bournemouth side.

This dog friendly beach welcomes dogs year-round on all sections, but leads of no more than two metres are required from May to September. Off-lead under close control is permitted from October to April. Dogs must also be on lead in the dunes and heathland from March to July to protect ground-nesting nightjars and Dartford warblers — dogs can swim in the sea off-lead year-round. The soft pale sand provides excellent running along the firm waterline strip, and the heathland behind carries the warm scent of gorse and heather. In autumn and winter, when lead restrictions lift, the whole landscape opens into something genuinely wild and beautiful.