The Norfolk Archaeological Trust welcomes responsible dog owners to enjoy our beautiful sites.
The Dog Walking Policy applies to the following sites:
Caistor Roman Town – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/caistor-roman-town
Burgh Castle Fort – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/burgh-castle-roman-fort
St Benet’s Abbey – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/st-benets-abbey
Tasburgh Enclosure – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/tasburgh-earthworks
Middleton Mount – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/middleton-mount
Burnham Norton Friary – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/burnham-norton-friary/
Bloodgate Hill Fort – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/bloodgate-hillfort
Fiddlers Hill – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/fiddlers-hill
Binham Priory – www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/binham-priory
All dog owners whilst visiting our sites:
- MUST keep their dogs on leads through the whole year*.
- Dog waste MUST be bagged and binned.
- Professional dog walkers MUST apply for a permit before running their business on our sites.
Access to our sites is only granted with agreement of this policy.
* At Bloodgate Hill Fort, South Creake – Dogs are prohibited from 1st April to 1st November.
Keeping Dogs on Leads
There are many reasons as to why we ask our visitors to keep their dogs on leads whilst visiting our sites:
Wildlife – Our sites are sanctuaries for a wide range of wildlife. As well as wildflowers NAT is very fortunate that at all of our sites we have skylarks, a ground nesting bird, which we must protect, and a wide range of other wildlife whose habitat we must ensure we look after and safeguard. We also must ensure that we are complying with the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.
Under Act it is an offence to damage or destroy an active nest, and NAT will report such occurrences to the police.
Livestock –To maintain our sites we are reliant on controlling the grass through grazing by sheep and cattle (and the income from farmers contributes to our charitable funds). Dogs not on leads could potentially worry livestock, and the Trust has had a number of incidents where this has occurred. Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 it is an offence to allow a dog to worry livestock, and in the case of sheep this offence is committed by letting a dog off a lead in a field where sheep are present – no matter how the dog is behaving. Sheep worrying can cause injury, suffering or abortion and this has a serious impact on the farmer’s livelihood and threatens the grazing income which NAT relies on to help maintain sites.
Visitors – NAT wishes to ensure that visiting our sites is a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. A significant proportion of our visitors find free running dogs worrying or even frightening. Keeping dogs on leads ensures that all our visitors experience a visit without the threat of free running dogs. We appreciate that the majority of dog owners visiting our sites are responsible dog owners, but we open our sites for everyone to enjoy.
Rights of way – Some of our sites are crossed by public footpaths which are rights of way, but this makes no difference to the need for dogs to be under control
Dog Fouling
We have dog waste bins placed around our busiest sites. Please ensure that you bag and bin (or take home with you) any dog waste – this will help us to protect visitors, dogs, livestock and wildlife.
Our sites are covered by a PSPO (public space protection order) which makes it an offence for a person in control of a dog not to clear up the dog mess immediately, for more details on the PSPO, and how to report dog fouling, please follow the following links:
www.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk/dog-issues-1/dog-fouling
www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/article/2068/How-do-I-report-dog-fouling
www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/media/6725/pspo-fouling-of-land-by-dogs-district-wide.pdf
www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/info/20094/animals_and_pests/751/dog_and_other_animal_fouling
Norfolk Police: www.norfolk.police.uk/sites/norfolk/files/dogfouling2.pdf
Professional Dog Waking
If you use a Norfolk Archaeological Trust site for professional dog walking (i.e. if you are paid to walk someone else’s dog), please get in touch. We may be able to issue you with a licence and authorise your commercial use of Norfolk Archaeological Trust land. Please contact info@norfarchtrust.org.uk for further information.
Summary
Therefore, we ask you to keep your dog on a lead at all times, to protect your dog as well as visitors, livestock and wildlife. We also expect visitors to respect our staff, volunteers and farmers on our sites. Physical and verbal abuse will not be tolerated, it will be reported to the police and prosecution sought.
Access to our sites is only granted on the basis that visitors comply with this policy.
A ‘Woof’ Guide to Caistor Roman Town can be downloaded here: A WOOF Guide to Caistor Roman Town
