Emsworth: Dogwalkers paradise for pets of any size

The saltwater-scented air, the still water reflecting the well-known British grey sky, and the old town of Emsworth behind me, I sat in peace and looked to my travel companion who I thought would be enjoying this sight with me, my dog Sully licking seagull poop on the ground.

The town of Emsworth is along the south coast not too far past Portsmouth making the trip from Southampton central train station to Emsworth station not long.  

The 69 kilos of Tibetan mastiff that went with me was only a trouble on the train whilst laying across the pathway and barely moving for commuters walking through

It was a brief walk from the station to the main town. Along the way, we passed a sign welcoming us to ‘Historic Emsworth’ rightfully named as the town was first founded as a village around 1215. The name Emsworth was thought to once be Emel's worth or Emil's worth. Its origins from the word worth which was an enclosure like a farm or hamlet surrounded by an enclosure.

Every house was its own piece of history - one after another with large Tudor windows, cottage doors so short I needed to bend my knees to get through (while standing at a staggering 5 foot 6), The one house that really outshone the rest had a gold horse statue in the living room clearly placed to be seen in the front window.

It was still a classic English town with a co-op, a local Chinese with a newspaper review of it from 2008, and a pharmacy but the pharmacy was named ‘The old Pharmacy’ and the Chinese was a proper restaurant rather than just a takeaway.

Other proper restaurants include Blue Bell Inn, not only a terrific restaurant because of its nautical theme and proximity to the water but because it was a dog-friendly establishment. I watched several old men walk in with little white dogs each with belting barks, but the staff barely batted an eye even when I walked in with one of the largest dog breeds in the world.

On our walk towards the waterfront, we passed Heidi’s Patisserie which is a beautiful little bakery that beckoned me to enter with its golden warmth and sweet smell, but it was currently surrounded by children on a school trip who I’d rather avoid as Sully is a magnet for attention and children are chaotic.

By this time, we were immersed in the high street’s charm. Little local shops including a pet’s store which Sully charged into with a clear mission. The small shop was stacked high with treats and toys for all types of pets with regulars of the store framed on a photo wall.

I picked out a few biscuits for Sully which he later ate on the train home, and we went towards the marina. It was low tide but there were still many boats out. During the middle ages, the town’s harbour was used to import wine with Hayling Island protecting it as a port.

We saw many dog walkers with pooches of all sizes on the harbour. At low tide you can let them off lead to run on the seabed, I didn’t with Sully since his recall isn’t the best and there were swans, I know he’d try and chase.

Walking back up to the Bakers I tied Sully to a lamppost and went in, picking out a Belgian bun which I had my eye on earlier and sat on a bench in the middle of the town centre. Across from me was a disused telephone box revamped as a local library and on the other side a gazebo with images on glass panes showing that it is a war memorial.

Before I even thought to take a photo of the bun, I had consumed over half of the entire thing, giving pieces to the dog carefully avoiding the raisins as Sully slumps slobbering onto my knee and from a distance, I can hear “look at that big dog!” as the group of school children come back from their walk to the village centre rushing over to pet my dog and as Sully moves away, their teacher drags the kids pleading with them to “leave the poor thing alone.”

Not knowing whether she was referring to me or the dog I could see Sully nodding off to sleep. He had a full day out with new smells, places, as well as people and it was time for the train back before he completely gave up on moving.

Being early November by 3 pm it was already getting dark. Emsworth is surely beautiful year-round, seeing it in spring and summer is on my list of things to do and of course with Sully.