This year something pretty amazing happened…after about a decade of longing to be a sausage dog owner, in May of 2018 I finally had my wish come true when we drove up to Manchester to pick up Dudley. Fast forward to almost three months later and many, many hours of anxiety later and despite it all being a bit of a whirlwind, we’re learning every day and exploring London again with a slightly different perspective with Duds now in tow. If you want to follow his adventures, you can follow him on Instagram here.
Now living in South East London, we still spend many weekends out and about in Notting Hill and so I thought I’d show Dudley the ‘hood, as there are some great dog-friendly spots in the area. I’ve jotted some down below in case you’re also ever in the neighbourhood with a canine companion…
CAFES
The neighbourhood isn’t short of its fair share of cafes and handily, quite a few of these are dog friendly. The few best ones that come to mind to visit with your pooch would be Pedlar’s Cafe on Talbot Road (which also sells a brilliant range of stationary and other homeware items) and Jusu Brothers for a healthy stop off – pop in for some of the best avocado on toast in London, all washed down with a smoothie for your walk. Stroll on further down Westbourne Grove and you can pop in to the Verve pet boutique for a coffee and a mingle with other dogs, pick up some dog shampoo from Aesop across the road and then take a seat outside 202 to simply watch the world go by.
PUBS
Luckily, many of the pubs in the area are pooch lovers. Westbourne Park Road seems particularly fond of our furrier friends, with The Westbourne, local institution and favourite of Kate Moss’ The Cow and italian gastropub The Oak all happy to let you enjoy your roast or your Saturday afternoon beers with your dog in tow. One of my previous locals, The Prince Bonaparte on Chepstow Road, allows dogs and so does the charming The Hillgate pub, tucked away in the rainbow painted streets behind Notting Hill Gate station. The Windsor Castle and The Ladbroke Arms are also great options to stop off for a G&T after a long stroll around Holland Park or Hyde Park…
BOUTIQUES
A favourite boutique in the area I’d recommend is The Mutz Nutz – it sells pretty much everything you can want as a dog or cat owner and the manager is delightful. She’ll offer your pooch any grooming, which they carry out downstairs, and they have a good online store you can order from too if you’re not in the neighbourhood to pop in.
Purplebone on Notting Hill Gate is also a lovely little shop, where curated items have been carefully chosen for the ‘London living pooch.’ There’s a great variety of clothing, chew toys, pet food and treats and novelty items, as well as offering grooming services.
We’re still always on the look out for more places to visit with Duds and are making our way through London’s parks so he can sample them all. Would love to hear from you on either my comments section or via social media if you also have a dog, and where your favourite London spots are!
LMNH x
