Painshill Park - Cobham

Jacob & Bruno on the Five Arch Bridge

Painshill Park – by Jacob and Bruno

We recently had the pleasure of visiting a wonderful place called Painshill Park which is located in Cobham, Surrey. We know we may only be nearing a year and a half old, but we have to say this place was one of our favourite places we’ve visited! We think the fabulous sunshine also helped the place look stunning. Although we don’t know much about navigating with road names, more just with our nose, we heard the hoomans say that they only had to travel along the A3 to get there, which really wasn’t long at all and they didn’t need to use the satnav, so must have been easy to get there.

We got to the carpark and out we went. Our dad’s put us on the lead, as dogs are asked to be kept on a ‘short lead’ whilst walking around, which we thought was reasonable. There was a pathway we had to walk along to get to the main entrance, but we were met by a big bridge crossing over the water… Our dads said it looked lovely, but for us, it was a bit of a challenge and we stopped dead in our tracks. No way were we heading over that! We demanded to be carried, which our demand was met! Once we had got over the initial fear of the bridge, we came across a beautifully landscaped garden, which was to the left of the visitor centre. When we saw this, we knew we had come to the right place! We had to go inside the centre so our dad’s could pay for their entry… dogs are free, result! They had to pay £8… suckers! Our dad’s were asked if they could gift aid their entry fees, which is great!

We set off first through a bluebell forest, we guess we had visited at the right time of the year to see this! The bluebells were about our height, so all we could see was a sea of blue, which we weren’t complaining about. The trail led us up a slight hill, which we raced to keep up with the hoomans. Our slight breathlessness was short lived as the view at the top was spectacular. The vineyard spanned along the other side of the hill and led our eyes down to the flowing river below. We could make out the swans and geese swimming on the river below, something Jacob couldn’t wait to get down there to pretend to be all ‘big’ but really chicken out when they turned around to face him! The sun kissed path then lead us round to the ‘gothic temple’. Although, with a name like that, we thought the temple would be black, not white! It truly was stunning, the view through the temple was really quite special and it also meant we could scout out who was down in the grounds, letting out a little growl, just so they knew we were there. Not sure if they heard us though…

We picked up a scent and were on our way again. This time, going downhill towards the ruined abbey. The hoomans saw this as a perfect picture opportunity, we saw this as a perfect opportunity to look every other way than the camera! Well, we don’t blame us, there seemed to be loads happening on the river in front of us. The fishermen casting their lines into the shimmering water, the swans in their pairs swimming gracefully, who wouldn’t want to look at that! Next stop was the crystal grotto! Sounded really cool and we couldn’t wait. Hopefully we would find some diamonds inside so we could sell them for lots of treats and toys. Before we got to the grotto, we were faced with another bridge. We were brave this time though and managed to get across using our own four legs! The grotto was in the middle of three little islands and there were two bridges connecting the islands all together. Unfortunately, the inside of the grotto was only open at certain times of the year, so it was closed for us. We guess that means no treats and toys then? We soon got over that as we were still able to see some of the ruins from the grotto that had collapsed. Pretty spectacular if you ask us!

Another bridge we had to cross, but by now, we were pros at the whole bridge crossing thing. You should have seen the way we strutted across it, like two supermodels! We had a short walk to the next part of the historic walk, but there were lots of ducks to look at, and of course, Jacob thought he was Johnny big banana’s, but was soon put in his place when one of the geese turned round to see him. Round the corner was another bridge! Yes, another one! But this one (the five arch bridge) was rather lovely and crossed the largest part of the lake. You may have seen the picture of us on the bridge already on our Instagram account. You could see the gothic temple in the distance, reflecting the sun off of its white walls – gorgeous.

Although it was a glorious day, it wasn’t too busy. We had seen a few couples walking about and had come across one other dog. It did mean that we were able to really stand and admire each part of the historic trail. The Turkish tent was next. We thought this might mean a quick stop off for some Turkish delight, but when we got to the top of the hill where the tent was situated, it was empty. Oh well, there was a bench inside, which we took a little rest on. Having such small legs means we have to walk 10x the amount you humans do! The Turkish tent looked over the whole of the park and the view was breath-taking, even for us as we had to go on our tiptoes to see above the grass! Could you imagine rolling down there? That would be a big sausage roll… get it?







By now, there were only a few more places to stop by, but we had enjoyed ourselves so far. We had been given a few treats to keep us going, so we were happy with that! We had a little walk to the gothic tower, which dog’s weren’t allowed in to. We could still admire how tall it was from the ground, we really did feel like ants down below. There were also toilets inside, so that was good for the hoomans. We guess you’re not like us and can’t just go anytime on the grass! There were some water bowls outside for us as well, which was great for the thirsty pups. The hermitage and the water wheel were the last two points to see. The hermitage was propped up on old tree stumps and looked over the fields below. It had been kitted out with a straw bed, which we could have had a nap on, but it felt like we were lying in a bed with thousands of fleas, not very comfortable at all! There was a chair carved out of a log in the corner, but it was a little too dark in there to take any pictures and the chair wouldn't have fitted our two bottoms on it.






Last but not least, we came up to the waterwheel, which was brilliant! Compared to our little size, the wheel was massive! You were able to go inside and see all of the mechanics and cogs turning. Admittedly, we were a little scared and Bruno let out tiny barks once in a while when the cogs made a noise. We went round to the side and could see the wheel working, scooping up the water, powering the wheel to turn round. We were half way back to the starting point now. We were a little tired by now, so thought it would be a good idea to stop off at the café. We weren’t allowed inside, but there were plenty of table and chairs outside for people to sit on with their dogs. There were big water bowls as well so us hot dogs could have another drink. The hoomans got something to re fuel them – a chicken and stuffing sandwich on granary bread and blueberry muffins, yum yum!



We had a splendid day today. The whole park really had something for everyone. It was great that they allowed dogs inside. Not a lot of places allow this when the grounds have been landscaped as lovely as they had been. There were plenty of places to sit, relax and take in the surroundings. You can have a picnic there too, which would have been lovely on a day like that! In total, the historic walk was around 2.5 miles and took us about 2 hours.

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Jacob & Bruno

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