OS GetOutside Champions • Other outdoor sports & activities • Oct 19, 2021 • 10 mins
Most animals love the outdoors but some insist they join us on every adventure. We say hello our OS GetOutside Champion's most adventurous pets and discover how they love to get outside. Plus, find top tips for taking your pet with you on your next day out.
Kipper in his GetOutside buff
Kipper is an affectionate and playful Border Terrier/Jack Russell cross . Despite having little legs he has boundless enthusiasm and energy for walking, running and sniffing out new places. Kipper particularly enjoys trig point bagging. He's also hiked some of the South West Coastal Path, The West Highland Way and The Solent Way.
Kipper likes: Forest and coastal walks. Playing sticks - but two sticks are needed as he won't drop the retrieved one until another is thrown. Playing 'football' with a golf ball.
Kipper dislikes: Not keen to actually go in the seawater but loves being near it.
Follow Sue (Kipper's Mum) on Instagram.
Kipper hiking
Pack you pet's water bowl and favourite snack. A towel and car seat cover help keep things clean when you return from wet and muddy adventures.
Kathmandu tends to come everywhere with us! She has travelled all over the UK with us in our van (yes, even on the ferry to Mull!), and she absolutely loves it. She adores walking with us and exploring new places, including waterfalls and lakes (but the sea is a little bit noisy sometimes).
Kathmandu walking the woods
Kathmandu likes: Van trips, forests, fluffy blankets, treats.
Kathmandu dislikes: Strangers. Someone else using her fluffy blanket.
Gee, Andy and Kathmandu
Cats really can make fantastic adventure companions, but it's not right for every cat. If you're considering adventuring with your cat, make sure you take it at your cats pace and not yours, and let your cat lead you on your adventures. It really has been one of the best decisions we've made though!
Follow Andy, Gee and Kathmandu on Instagram.
Take it at your pets pace! It's so important not to rush your furry friend in environments that may be new and scary to them (although they may not be to you!). Taking it at their pace means you don't cause unnecessary anxiety, and you build up a better relationship too, hopefully enabling you to have more adventures together.
I love heading out into the hills with Gus. We both enjoy going out with a saddlebag for the day. Our favourite mountain is the Blorenge, near Abergavenny, where we take in the views. Quiet country lanes, woodland tracks and big open fields for a lung opening canter are also our other favourites.
Gus likes: Stopping for a lunch break - I get my flask and sandwiches and Gus gets to graze
Gus dislikes: Pheasants, plastic bags and anything shiny in the hedgerows!
Gus and Phillipa enjoying the great outdoors
When going out for the day I’ll always take a saddle bag with me. In it I’ve got a drink and food for me, waterproof jacket and map. I’ll normally pop a couple of carrots in for Gus and I also carry a small first aid kit containing vet wrap, sterile wash, non-adhesive dressing pad, plasters, baler twine/paracord, duct tape, painkillers, foil blanket and folding hoof pick. A lead rope can also be really useful.
If I'm driving to the start of my ride I’ll take a hay net, water and buckets, sponge, sweat scraper, sweat rug and leg bandages/boots. I’ll also plot my route on my OS Maps app and send a link to my partner so he knows exactly where we are going. Safety is so important - I have a tag attached to my saddle with emergency contact details on it. It sounds a lot but it's worth it to spend the day out exploring with your horse.
Follow Phillipa (Gus's Mum) on Instagram.
If we are travelling to start our ride, I’ll go there without Gus first to check trailer/lorry parking and often walk the route to ensure there aren’t any obstructions or padlocked gates.
Charlotte with Milo and Sydney
Sydney and Milo are both rescue dogs from Romania and Cyprus, they have now been with us three and four years and have become true adventure pups. Sydney comes wild camping to keep me company and loves to snuggle down my sleeping bag and Milo loves running around the fells of the Lake District. They both love any walk that includes water and a day out to the coast keeps us all happy.
Milo's favourite place is Allonby in Cumbria where he can run through the dunes and swim in the sea and Sydney loves Low Fell where she can enjoy a picnic with me at the summit. Both dogs are planning some long-distance trails with me over the coming year.
Snacks and water are essential for me and the dogs. If we are going on a long hike or wild camping the dogs carry their own provisions including a basic pet first aid kit!
Neko waits by the front door to be kitted up with her harness and jacket when she wants to join us on a family adventure. Neko loves joining in on family walks and stopping to watch the local Shetland wildlife with us. Her favourite thing to do is run and jump through the smaller burns (water streams) and play in the gentle waves on the beach.
Neko wearing his GetOutside buff
If Neko is due her catnap when we are out as a family she likes to jump up on Brynn's wheelchair and settle in his lap or on trickier walks she likes to get carried in her backpack with her blanket where she can have a quick snooze.
Neko likes: Streams, the beach and sea, hills, shiny things and playing fetch
Neko dislikes: Heavy rain and wind, being ignored or being left behind
Follow the Hauxwell family on Instagram.
Wren is my constant companion and is always ready to go out on an adventure, whatever the weather! She was a rescue at 12 weeks and I have never had a dog like her... she is very special! I teach outdoor learning two days a week and she is our school dog and adored by everyone! She absolutely loves kids and they love her just as much. Wren accompanies me on all my hikes, runs and all aspects of my work. She has travelled the length of the country with me and it feels like she is connected to me in so many ways.
Kate and Wren
She's immensely loyal and loving, she is always by my side or at my feet, wherever I am. She is incredibly fit and agile, scaling walls, gates, rivers, rocks, mountains... in fact she will tackle just about anything... as long as I am there. I cannot imagine life without her!
Wren likes: Just being outside...especially if a ball or a stick is involved.
Wren dislikes: Not overly keen on other dogs or loud noises, especially motorbikes and noisy revving cars.
Follow Kate (Wren's Mum) on Instagram.
Make sure you have food and water supplies on long hikes. Wren does double my miles and need her energy boosts as much as I do!
Layla is an outdoor dog through and through, maybe it's something to do with her being half Springer Spaniel and half Border Collie. She is most happy when she's outdoors. She loves exploring new spaces, be the beaches, mountains, open areas or woodlands. She adores children as she knows that they are going to make a fuss over her and is happy running up to them and flopping onto her back for tummy rubs - she always thanks them with big sloppy kisses. When she gets to go to the mountains, she is in her element. She's always running back and forth looking back at her human family and telling them to hurry up!
Manse and Layla
Layla is relatively well trained, but has a very mischievous side to her when she wants attention! Outdoors, she looks at sheep and wants to round them up. She doesn't like geese and thinks that they should stay off her land! She particularly does not like birds of prey, particularly as once a Red Kite swooped down to steal her bone that she was chewing in the garden.
Layla likes: Playing ball or frisbee, exploring new places particularly woods, beaches and mountains. Children and friendly people who will make a fuss over her.
Layla dislikes: Skateboarders. birds of prey, rain, being left behind and scary sounds.
Follow Manse and Layla on Instgram.
Irish joined the family in 2013 and since then has taken part in numerous local adventures. When we moved to East Lancashire he started struggling with ridden work, so we began exploring local routes in-hand. He was often seen along the Pennine Bridleway joining me in hiking sections of the route. A particularly fond memory was him trotting alongside me shoulder to shoulder as I took him out trail running.
Irish exploring the trails
River joined us in May 2021. At only three years old she's still very young and hasn't begun training yet under saddle, but when she does I am aiming to do multi-day rides across the Lake District with her. It can be tricky to find off-road routes to take your horses on. The OS Maps app is perfect for finding local bridleways and byways and specific routes suitable for horses.
They like: Food, treats, carrots and scratches
They dislike: Plastic bags
Follow Mairi and her horses on Instagram.
Regularly ride a route that isn't marked on the map? Get it reported to the British Horse Society so it can be officially recorded.
Duke is only 6 months old so his adventures are only just beginning. From day one, when he couldn't walk for more than 10 minutes he's taught me to explore the parks closer to home. As he gets older it is fantastic to watch him experience everything for the first time.
Duke at the beach
His first time on a Kent sandy beach (he was prancing and flicking the sand around), to his first "hike" on the South West Coastal Path. He was unsettled by swimming in the sea, but he so bravely followed me out into the waves instinctively doing doggy paddle. I adore seeing the world through his experiences and he is my reason to create new adventures. I can't wait for us to start running together.
Duke likes: Food. Food. Anything that might be food!
Duke dislikes: Still not sure of swimming. But he is a Labrador. He will get there!
Follow Kizzie and Duke on Instagram.
Be patient with puppies! So many times with Duke I would walk him for 20 minutes on a gorgeous path, then take him home and re-walk the same section (and more) myself because he just couldn't walk that far yet!
Goose
Goose adopted us two years ago after a friend found her in a terrible state in Dublin. It is thought that she'd been kicked out of a puppy farm. She found her way to us on is Isle of Skye and since then has learnt to swim, paddleboard, and run free in the mountains and around the islands of Britain. She has learnt to wag her tail again and makes us roar with laughter.
Follow Lisa (Goose's Mum) on Instagram.
Bring plenty of water and food to refuel during the adventure. On the water we always use a pet lifejacket. A good harness helps spreads the load if we have to lift her up and over things. We always remove her collar to avoid it getting snagged.
From planning & creating your own routes, or discovering ready-made ones; to following & recording your progress and staying on track; OS Maps puts mapping & navigation tools at your fingertips to make it easy for anyone to get outside safely and discover the outdoors.
Be inspired to do more and go further by equipping yourself with the best tools for the job. Our maps are built on 220 years of experience - we keep walkers, runners, cyclists and more safe in the great outdoors all year round.
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