Wimpole Estate

Wimpole Estate is the National Trust's largest working farm in England, occupying 1,500 acres of Cambridgeshire countryside south of Cambridge near Arrington. The 8 km parkland circuit was landscaped by Capability Brown, and the walking takes in open parkland with mature specimen oaks, limes and beeches, crosses the Chinese Bridge over the ornamental lake, and passes the Gothic folly before field paths extend the route through the wider estate. The scent of a working farm permeates throughout — rare breed cattle, sheep and pigs at the Home Farm are visible and audible from the paths, and fallow deer graze the open parkland. The 75 metres of total climbing is gentle across rolling ground.

This dog friendly walk requires dogs on short leads throughout per National Trust rules, protecting the livestock, deer and ground-nesting birds across the estate. Despite the on-lead restriction, the walk is richly engaging for dogs — the working farm scent is constant and varied, the mature woodland sections carry intense earthen and fungal notes, and the deer create visual and olfactory interest across the open parkland. The estate cafe welcomes dogs at outdoor seating. The parkland grass, gravel estate roads and field paths provide varied ground underfoot, and the flat, accessible terrain suits dogs of all ages. The sheer scale of the estate means the walk feels genuinely expansive despite being within a managed landscape.