Boxing Day walks with a pub at the end

Three things, in this order. It has to fit the light, it has to suit people who ate too much yesterday, and it has to end somewhere warm. Everything else is a bonus.

The light is the hard limit. On 26 December 2026 the sun sets at about 3.44pm at Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk, 3.52pm at Edale in the Peak District, 3.51pm at Near Sawrey in the Lake District and 4.13pm at Tenby in Pembrokeshire. Go north and it comes sooner: about 3.38pm on Holy Island and 3.29pm at Durness. We worked those out with the NOAA solar equations, and they sit within a few minutes of the times for the shortest day itself, because the evenings have barely begun to draw out.

So the walks below are short. Most take two hours or less by the time the National Trust or the other operator gives. That leaves time for a slow start, a wrong turn at a stile, a long look at the geese, and a table by the fire before it gets dark.

You will meet the same people on all of them: a family in new hats, somebody walking off a hangover in a Christmas jumper, a spaniel that has found the only puddle in the field. It is one of the friendlier days of the year to be out.

The cleanest one in the Winter Walks book is on the north Norfolk coast. The National Trust's Burnham Overy Staithe walk starts and ends at The Hero, which says on its own page that it has a wood burner, welcomes dogs and keeps biscuits for them after a beach walk. The Trust gives it as 4 miles and two hours: out along the raised bank of the Norfolk Coast Path, into the marshy meadow of Holkham National Nature Reserve, over the fields towards the Norman tower of St Clement's church, and back by the River Burn.

The sea bank is high and open, so it catches every bit of wind off the marsh. If the wind is from the west, walk out with it behind you and face it only on the sheltered lane home. The Trust says suitable footwear may be needed after wet weather, and on Boxing Day after a wet December, take that as a yes.

In the Lake District, the Trust's Moss Eccles Tarn walk starts in Near Sawrey beside the Tower Bank Arms, which says it has a log fire and that well-behaved dogs are welcome. The Trust gives 2.5 miles and fifty minutes; our mapped line is nearer 4.7 km, so allow an hour and a half. It climbs Stoney Lane to the small tarn where Beatrix Potter painted while her husband fished, the Trust says, then drops to Far Sawrey, where the Cuckoo Brow Inn says it has open log fires too. Two pubs with fires on one short walk is about as good as Boxing Day gets.

Further north, the Patterdale and Glenamara Park trail starts from the car park opposite the Patterdale Hotel, which says it welcomes muddy boots and dogs. The Trust gives 2 miles and an hour, mostly on gravel, with gentle climbs, past a hollow alder and a large silver birch inside an old deer wall. It is the walk for a day when the fells are in cloud.

The National Trust's Edale circular in the Peak District goes past the Rambler Inn by the station in its first few hundred metres, and the Old Nags Head is up the lane in Grindsbrook Booth. The Rambler said on its own page in October that it has fires in every room and serves food from noon. The Trust gives an hour and a half to two hours, up beside the stream on the Pennine Way for about 2.6 km and back on stone flags. Those flags are your friend on a wet moor and your enemy when they ice over, so on a frosty morning take shorter steps.

On the eastern edges, the Trust's Froggatt and Curbar walk puts the Grouse Inn about halfway round. At two and a half to three hours it is the longest walk here, and on 26 December it means starting by ten. The edge path is a long way from shelter in a north-east wind.

In Norfolk again, the Trust's Brancaster Staithe wildlife walk is 3.8 miles and two hours, and the Jolly Sailors is a short walk from the start. It says on its own page that sandy or muddy boots and four-legged friends are all welcome, with a fire in winter. The Trust warns that Harbour Way floods on big tides, so check the tide times before you leave the van at the quay.

Further along the coast, the Trust's Blakeney Freshes walk is 2 miles, forty minutes to an hour and a half, from the quay and back, and the White Horse is just above the quay.

Yes, and both have a town or village at the end rather than a single pub. In the Cotswolds, the National Landscape's Stow and Maugersbury route is 3.75 miles and two hours, stile free, starting and finishing at the market square in Stow-on-the-Wold. The route warns twice about crossing the Fosse Way: use the islands, never a gap in the traffic. On a winter afternoon in failing light that warning matters more, not less. Sunset in Stow on 26 December 2026 is about 4.00pm.

Bibury and the River Coln is the other Cotswold choice: 4 miles and two hours, starting by the river at the Swan Inn. The route says two pubs and the trout farm do food. Moreton and Batsford, from the war memorial on Moreton's High Street, is the same length and has field gates instead of stiles, which is a kindness in winter gloves.

In Pembrokeshire, the National Park's Tenby and Waterwynch walk is 2.3 miles and an hour, from North Beach and back through the town. Tenby's North Beach bans dogs only from 1 May to 30 September, so on Boxing Day the dog can start on the sand. The walk has 0.3 km on the main road: do that stretch in daylight with the dog on a short lead. Sunset in Tenby is about 4.13pm, the latest of any walk here.

Don't assume it. Christmas and Boxing Day are the days a pub is most likely to run different hours from the rest of the year, to stop serving food at a set time, or to take bookings only. We have not listed opening hours for any pub in this guide, because we could not check them for 26 December 2026 this far ahead, and an old Christmas timetable is worse than none.

Do this instead. In the week before Christmas, look at the pub's own website or social page for a Christmas notice, and if there isn't one, ring. Ask three things: are you open on Boxing Day, are you serving food and until when, and can we bring the dog in. If they take bookings, book. A table for two and a wet dog by the fire at 3pm on Boxing Day is not something to leave to chance.

Have a plan B within the same walk. On Moss Eccles Tarn, it is the Cuckoo Brow at Far Sawrey. In Edale it is the Old Nags Head. At Brancaster Staithe the White Horse is on the same road as the Jolly Sailors. And whatever happens, pack a flask. A hot drink on the sea bank at Burnham Overy, watching the geese come in, is a fine thing even if the pub turns out to be shut.

On every walk here, yes, with the rules each operator sets. On Burnham Overy Staithe the Trust asks for dogs on a lead in the nature reserve and under strict control on farmland. At Blickling the rule is a lead in the park and woods at all times. On the Froggatt edges red deer roam, so lead on and give them room. Cattle graze the fields on the Edale circular; the Trust's own tip is that if cattle take an interest in a dog on a lead, it is often best to let the dog go.

The Countryside Code adds the legal part. On open access land and at the coast you must put your dog on a lead around livestock, and a farmer can shoot a dog that is attacking or chasing livestock.

Inside the pub, the decision is the landlord's. It is not against the law to have dogs in pubs, cafes and restaurants, Dover District Council's food safety guidance says; it is the business owner's choice. The Hero, the Jolly Sailors, the Tower Bank Arms and the Patterdale Hotel all say on their own pages that they take dogs. For the rest, ask when you ring. Our guide to finding a good dog-friendly pub covers what to look for and how to behave once you're in.

Work back from sunset. Take the walk's official time, add about a third for mud, photographs and a slower pace on frozen ground, then keep an hour of daylight spare. On a two-hour walk with a 3.44pm sunset, that means walking by about 12.10pm at the latest, and earlier if you want lunch at the end rather than a pint in the dark.

In practice that suits Boxing Day well. A late breakfast, a slow drive, boots on by eleven, the pub by one. Our winter walking safety guide sets out the rule in full, with the sunset times for the shortest day.

If you are touring rather than going out from home, there is one more rule from the Winter Walks book: arrive at a new campsite in daylight. Pitching on a site you don't know, in the dark, with a cold van and a hungry dog, is the worst half hour of any trip. On 26 December, with the light gone before four, that means moving the van in the morning and walking from the pitch, or staying put. Our Winter Campsite Index lists the sites that say they stay open over Christmas.

Less than for a winter hill day and more than for a stroll round the block. Boots with a real tread, because the paths here are mud, stone flags and frosted grass. A hat and gloves, because the open walks, the Norfolk sea banks and the Froggatt edge, have no shelter at all. A head torch, which you will not need if the plan works. A flask, for the reason above. A towel in the van for the dog, and a lead that can be shortened in the bar.

On Holy Island, add the causeway timetable. Northumberland County Council publishes the safe crossing times, and the tide does not stop for Christmas. Check them before you drive over, and plan to be back on the mainland side of the causeway with time to spare.