Off-Lead Dog Parks in London: Where to Go and the Rules

Last checked: 22 October 2026. Every rule below links to the page it comes from. In London, whoever runs the park sets the dog rules: The Royal Parks, a charity, runs Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Richmond Park and the other Royal Parks (Dogs in The Royal Parks, Dec 2025); the City of London Corporation runs Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest and several commons (City of London); your borough council runs most of the rest. Camden, for example, says its dog rules don’t apply in parks it doesn’t manage, such as Hampstead Heath, Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill (Camden Council). Read the signs at the gate too.

The short answers

• Where can my dog be off the lead? In the big Royal Parks, on Hampstead Heath and in many borough parks, if it stays under control and comes back when called. Rather than fenced off-lead areas, the Royal Parks and Hampstead Heath list where dogs must be on a lead or can’t go.
• Can dogs be off the lead in Hyde Park? Yes, generally, but it’s “the owner’s responsibility to keep the dog under control”, with exceptions such as the Rose Garden and around the Serpentine (Hyde Park FAQs).
• When must my dog be on a lead in Richmond Park? Everywhere from 1 May to 31 July, the deer birthing season, and all year near deer, around ponds and in the skylark zones (Richmond Park FAQs). Bushy Park has the same birthing-season rule.
• Does my dog need a licence? No. The Local Government Act 1988 abolished the duty on dog licences and repealed the Dog Licences Act 1959 (s. 38, Schedule 7). Your dog needs a microchip instead, registered by 8 weeks old, with the details kept up to date, or you can be fined up to £500 (GOV.UK).
• What are the fines? Breaking a council’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) can mean a £100 fixed penalty notice on the spot, or up to £1,000 in court (GOV.UK). A 2026 law raises the most a council can charge on the spot to £500, but that part isn’t in force yet (Crime and Policing Act 2026, s. 4).
• Can dogs go on the Tube? Yes, free, on a lead, off the seats and never walking on escalators. Details below.

Rules in every Royal Park

From the Royal Parks’ dog policy:

• No dogs in children’s playgrounds or toilets. Cafés and restaurants are among the places where dogs may be banned or need a lead, so check the sign.
• On a lead near roads and near water.
• Pick up: “you are breaking the law if you do not do so”. Any bin will do.
• Follow the nesting-season signs for ground-nesting birds. Letting your dog chase, worry or injure any animal or bird is an offence (The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997, reg. 4(21)).

Deer: Richmond Park and Bushy Park

Both parks have wild red and fallow deer (Deer safety advice).

• 1 May to 31 July, birthing season: dogs on a lead in all areas. “This is a mandatory rule” (Richmond Park FAQs; Bushy Park FAQs). Keep to the edge, away from long grass and bracken where newborn deer hide, or walk elsewhere (Deer safety advice).
• September to November, the rut: a lead near deer, or walk elsewhere. Stay 50 metres from deer, 100 metres if a male seems active (FAQs).
• All year: a lead near deer. A dog chasing deer is an offence and you could be prosecuted (FAQs).
• If a deer charges, let your dog off the lead: it can escape more easily, and it may be what upset the deer (Deer safety advice).

One source differs: the Royal Parks’ code for commercial dog walkers gives the birthing season as May to August.

Where to go

• Hyde Park: open 5 am to midnight. A lead at the edge of the Serpentine and in the Rose Garden; no dogs in the Serpentine, the Lido or the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain (dog policy). In Kensington Gardens, no dogs in the Round Pond, the Long Water or at the Peter Pan statue, and a lead at their edges, around the Italian Fountains and on the Flower Walks (same policy).
• The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill: pedestrian gates 5 am to dusk; Primrose Hill is locked 10 pm to 6 am from March to October. No dogs in the Avenue, English, Queen Mary’s or St John’s Lodge gardens, or the Boating Lake, and a lead beside it (Regent’s Park FAQs; dog policy).
• Greenwich Park: pedestrian gates 6 am to dusk. No dogs in the Flower Garden, the Wilderness Deer Park or the Royal Observatory Garden; a lead in the Rose Garden (Greenwich Park FAQs).
• Richmond Park: pedestrian gates open 24 hours, except at night during the deer culls. Leads around ponds, including Pen Ponds, and in the Isabella Plantation; a short lead all year in the skylark zones (Lawn Field, Crown Field, the Bog). No dogs in Pembroke Lodge Gardens (Richmond Park FAQs).
• Bushy Park: pedestrian gates open 24 hours, except at night during the culls. Leads around rivers and ponds, and a short lead from March to September in the skylark zone south of Oval Plantation. No dogs in the Woodland Gardens (Bushy Park FAQs).
• Hampstead Heath (City of London): off the lead if your dog is under control, in sight and comes back when called. A lead at all times in Golders Hill Park and on sports pitches. No dogs in playgrounds, fenced nature areas or the ponds, except the dog swimming sites with floating barriers (Dog Walking Code of Conduct). You can be fined if your dog hurts, annoys or disturbs other visitors (Dog walking at Hampstead Heath).
• Epping Forest (City of London): ancient woodland stretching 13 miles from East London into Essex (City of London). Use a lead if your dog doesn’t come back when called or where seasonal signs ask, keep it away from wildlife, cattle, deer and horses, and take the poo home (Dog walking in Epping Forest).
• Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath (Wimbledon and Putney Commons): no more than four dogs in a group; from 1 March to 31 August, a lead around the ponds and on the mown paths across The Plain (Wimbledon and Putney Commons).

Borough parks and PSPOs

A PSPO can require a lead, keep dogs out of places, limit how many you walk and make you clear up. Where dogs are banned from a park, there must be signs (GOV.UK). Each borough differs:

• Camden: off the lead in parks if under control. A lead on roads, pavements, car parks, estates and in Hampstead Cemetery. No dogs in playgrounds, sports pitches and courts, local nature reserves, or the long-standing dog-free parts of Camden Square, Primrose Gardens and Fortune Green. £100, or £1,000 if prosecuted (Camden Council).
• Wandsworth (its parks include Battersea Park and Wandsworth Common): a lead on roads, pavements, in cemeteries and in marked parts of parks. No dogs in playgrounds, sports facilities, playing fields, lakes or ponds (Wandsworth Council). £100, or £75 if paid within 10 days (the order, 2025).
• Tower Hamlets: off the lead in parks, except gated play and sports areas. A lead on roads, pavements, car parks and estate roads. £100, or up to £1,000 in court (Tower Hamlets Council).

Find yours: put your postcode into GOV.UK’s Find your local council and search its site for “dog control PSPO”.

Walking more than four dogs

• Royal Parks: “no-one should be in charge of more than 4 dogs at any one time”, and walkers shouldn’t group up past 8 dogs in total (code of conduct for dog walking). Paid walkers need a licence, £300 a year plus VAT (£225 for Richmond and Bushy only), £2 million public liability insurance and the Royal Parks armband (Dog walking licences).
• Hampstead Heath: the code asks everyone to walk no more than four dogs at once. Professional walkers need a licence (£355 a year, or £211 for three days a week or fewer), or risk an £80 fixed penalty notice (Dog walking at Hampstead Heath).
• Wandsworth: four per person, or up to six with a licence, which every professional walker needs (Multiple dog walking licences).
• Tower Hamlets: four, or up to six with a professional dog walker licence (Tower Hamlets).

The law in every park

• Collar and tag: in a street or public place, your dog must wear a collar with your name and address on it or on an attached tag (Control of Dogs Order 1992), microchip or not (GOV.UK).
• Out of control: under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, a dog must not be dangerously out of control anywhere, and that includes making someone worried it might injure them. That can mean an unlimited fine, up to 6 months in prison, or both; if your dog injures someone, up to 5 years (GOV.UK).
• Banned types: Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully types, judged by how the dog looks. An exempted dog must be on a lead and muzzled at all times in public (GOV.UK), with an XL Bully’s lead held by someone at least 16 (GOV.UK), so never off the lead in a park.

The Tube and buses

Dogs can ride TfL buses, the Tube, trams, the DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line, unless staff have a good reason to refuse, such as a dog that seems dangerous (Conditions of Carriage, 9.15). They travel free (TfL).

• On a lead at all times, never on seats.
• Escalators: take the stairs or lift. If there’s neither, carry your dog; if it’s too big, staff will stop the escalator when it’s safe, generally outside the rush hours (Conditions of Carriage, 9.17).
• Avoid travelling with your dog in extreme heat (TfL).

The Thames foreshore

If you go down to the foreshore, check the tide first. The Port of London Authority warns that the Thames rises and falls by over seven metres twice a day, and hazards include raw sewage and broken glass (PLA).

What to bring

• A lead for each dog, even in an off-lead park, and plenty of poo bags.
• Water. On hot days walk in the cooler hours, and know the signs of heatstroke in dogs.
• A tick check afterwards: the City warns Epping Forest visitors about ticks and harmful algae. See checking for ticks and a dog first aid kit.
• Puppies: wait until your vet says the vaccines are done before busy parks; see bringing home a puppy.

For manners, see dog park etiquette. Heading north? See dog-friendly Edinburgh, where Scotland’s rules apply. Know a London walk we missed? Tell us at /support.

FAQs

Can my dog swim in the Serpentine or the Hampstead Heath ponds? Not in the Serpentine, the Round Pond or the Long Water (dog policy). On Hampstead Heath, only at the dog swimming sites with floating barriers (Heath code).

Can I take my dog on a London bus? Yes, on the same terms as the Tube: on a lead and not on a seat (Conditions of Carriage, 9.15).

What if my dog runs off? Search nearby, report it to your council’s dog warden service (GOV.UK), and report the lost or found dog free on FurFam: your report gets its own page to share. If you find a dog and can’t reach its family, you must tell the council (GOV.UK).