Find trusted dog walkers in Haringey

Several of the places people walk dogs in Haringey aren't run by the council and have their own rules, so what your dog can do on a walk depends on where the walker takes it. In Alexandra Park dogs have to stay on a lead, and on Tottenham Marshes nobody can take more than five dogs at once.

Parks, woods and the River Lee

Haringey's larger green spaces run from the ancient woods around Highgate and Muswell Hill in the west to Tottenham Marshes beside the River Lee in the east, with Alexandra Park in between.

Alexandra Park has its own byelaws, and they say dogs must be on a lead anywhere in the park. Dogs aren't allowed in enclosed areas with no-dogs signs, and they can't swim in the lake or the ponds either, so it isn't the place for a dog that likes to get in the water.

In Queen's Wood, the council asks people to keep their dogs out of the pools, and the Frog Pond is fenced off. Between April and July it also warns about oak processionary moth caterpillars in the wood and asks for pets to be kept away from them, so a walker using the wood at that time of year should keep dogs close.

The Parkland Walk is shared with cyclists, and the path is uneven and can get muddy.

Tottenham Marshes is part of the Lee Valley Regional Park, which sets its own rules for dogs in its byelaws. Nobody can bring more than five dogs onto the park's land, and if you've got more than four with you, they all have to be on leads. Dogs have to be kept out of the water too. On the River Lee towpath, the Canal & River Trust doesn't say dogs must be on a lead, but it does ask for a short lead at locks and bridges and no swimming. It also warns that dogs have died after swallowing blue-green algae, which is another good reason to keep them out of the river.

What the park rules mean for a walk

A walker taking five dogs onto the marshes will have all of them on leads, and a professional walker needs a licence from the park authority to work there. In Alexandra Park, a walker who follows the byelaws keeps dogs on the lead the whole time, so if your dog needs a proper off-lead run, ask where else they go.

Choosing a walker

When you're choosing a walker, ask which of these places they use and how many dogs they usually take out together. If they walk on the marshes, check they've got the Lee Valley licence.