Industry News

Tails are set to wag and noses to twitch as Forestry England invites you to take your dog on the ultimate forest dog walk with Wallace & Gromit as they unveil a brand-new Forest Walkies route in Hamsterley Forest. The route is one of 22 across the nation’s forests and has been developed in partnership with Aardman and Ordnance Survey. Forest Walkies will give four-legged friends the time of their lives and help you spend quality time with your canine companions. Not only that but there’s a chance to win your dog a fabulous holiday – and the whole family can go too! 

Panels along the route offer activities to do with your dog featuring that inimitable duo, Wallace and Gromit. Challenges include encouraging your dog to sit still while you count up to 30 (in Gromit seconds!), high-fiving your canine chum, and encouraging them to lie still while you both enjoy looking up at the trees. Any cheating is all part of the fun you’ll have with your happy hound! And there’s even a photo opp at end of the route for your dog to say “cheese Gromit!” 

Routes will also be plotted on Ordnance Survey’s Maps app to help you navigate your way around and you’ll find more information about the routes and be able to enter the competition from the app too.   

With a third of visitors to the nation’s forests bringing their beloved dogs, Forestry England welcomes them all year round to exercise and enjoy the sights and smells of the forest landscape. Forest Walkies is a chance to deepen the bond you have with your dog and support their wellbeing and yours. 

There is a brilliant activity pack to buy before you go on your Forest Walkies, with a beautifully designed tote bag featuring Wallace and Gromit striding out on their own forest walk as a special gift for dog owners. Inside is a cute dog bandana as a gift for the most important member of the group. You’ll also find a leaflet to enter the competition as well as a fun crossword puzzle to be just like Wallace and Gromit, with clues on the route panels to solve on your forest walk.   

One lucky dog (and their family) will be in with the chance of winning an amazing Forest Holidays cabin break worth £1500, where they can put their paws up and relax! Details of how to enter can be found in the activity pack and also on the Forestry England website.   

Laura Hull, Forestry England Visitor Experience Manager, said: 

“We can’t wait to welcome dogs and their owners for their Forest Walkies with this brand-new campaign. Hamsterley is the perfect place for dogs to have fun, exercise and stay healthy all year round. As well as being a beautiful environment for us as we take our dogs for a walk, it’s also a place full of enrichment for them with sights and smells to keep your dog happy and stimulated. Dogs and their owners are incredibly important visitors to the nation’s forests, and we are looking forward to seeing some very waggy tails and bright eyes as they experience this grand day out! All our dogs deserve a treat, and this is the perfect way to give it to them.” 

Rachael Peacock, Senior Brand Manager, Aardman added: 

“We are delighted to be continuing our long-term partnership with Forestry England with the new ‘Forest Walkies’ campaign. Wallace and Gromit love the countryside and can’t wait to start encouraging families to get outdoors with their four-legged friends on these cracking dog-walking trails. Wallace is dusting off his ultimate walkies invention, The Wrong Trousers, in preparation!" 

Nick Giles OBE, Ordnance Survey’s Managing Director for Leisure, said:  

“This series of Wallace and Gromit routes around forests in England are wonderful fun for your dog and you.  

“We are excited about helping people find the routes easily in the OS Maps app, the UK’s leading outdoor exploration app.  Fingers crossed walkers and their dogs have the same amount of fun exploring the outdoors as Wallace and Gromit have done over the years.” 

As well as appearing on the Forest Walkies routes, Gromit will be Forestry England’s special celeb ambassador for the year ahead. He’ll be popping up to give his doggy wisdom on visiting the nation’s forests with your dog and taking part in events and activities across the year.   

To keep dogs and people safe when visiting the nation’s forests, Forestry England asks everyone to follow the forest dog code. This means keeping your dog close and in sight, bagging their poo and either putting it in a bin if available or taking it home with you, and following signs around the forest to protect wildlife and other forest visitors.  

Forestry England national membership means you and your dog can have even more wonderful walks in hundreds of forests across England while supporting our work to care for the forests we all love. You can find out more about becoming a member at forestryengland.uk.