For a big dog, or two on the lead
Walks for a big dog near Houghton-le-Spring and Seaham
720 or more of the walks within 5 km of the middle of Houghton-le-Spring pass the checks the app runs for a big dog, or two dogs on the lead at once. That is 46% of the 1,540 or more we measured.
To pass, a walk has to be 2.5 to 8 km long, with at most one stile, gate or cattle grid. Tell the app about your own dog and it runs the checks that fit them, and looks further than 5 km when it has to.
| Walks | How many | Share of every walk measured |
|---|---|---|
| Every walk we measured within 5 km | 1,540 or more | 100% |
| 2.5 to 8 km long | 810 or more | 52% |
| And pass the check | 720 or more | 46% |
Each bar is a share of every walk we measured. Counts are rounded down to ten.
What stops the rest
Near Houghton-le-Spring, 10% of the walks that are 2.5 to 8 km long have two or more stiles, gates or cattle grids, so they do not pass.
- Stiles, gates and cattle grids
- A stile means lifting a big dog over it, and a narrow gate is a squeeze with two on the lead.
Measured on 12 October 2026 from the map. How these figures are made
What the walks that pass are like
Each bar is the share of passing walks the sentence is true of. The upright mark on each bar, and the small number beside it, is the same share for every walk near Houghton-le-Spring.
The 720 walks or more that pass
No stile, gate or cattle grid: 86% of the walks that pass, against 74% of every walk near Houghton-le-Spring.
| Walks that | Share of walks measured | Every walk near Houghton-le-Spring |
|---|---|---|
| A loop | 28% | 27% |
| Under trees for a third or more of the way | 31% | 34% |
| Beside water for a tenth or more | 51% | 51% |
| Through a park or green space for a third or more | 30% | 26% |
| Off road for four fifths or more | 5% | 7% |
| No stile, gate or cattle grid | 86% | 74% |
| No steps | 80% | 77% |
| Start where you can park, at a car park or on a minor road | 91% | 90% |
| Pass a dog-waste bin | 21% | 27% |
| Pass a public toilet | 20% | 21% |
| Pass a busy beauty spot | 43% | 41% |
Walks near Houghton-le-Spring for a big dog
If you live in Tyne and Wear, it is your home county, and every walk in it is free, for good. Tell the app you walk a big dog, or two on the lead, and it counts the stiles and narrow gates on every walk before you see one.
Anywhere in Great Britain, even with no signal.
Further is the Trekosa subscription: walks beyond your home county, and help on the walk itself. The OS Explorer map, 1:25,000, on any walk while you have signal. Press Offline on a walk and its map stays on your phone until you remove it, for when the signal goes. Drift off the path and you get a quiet buzz.
The first 250 households have it for good. After that, £4.99 a month or £34.99 a year.
Questions people ask
- How many walks near Houghton-le-Spring pass the checks for a big dog?
- 720 walks or more: 46% of the 1,540 or more we measured within 5 km of the middle of Houghton-le-Spring. Of the 810 or more that are 2.5 to 8 km long, 89% pass.
- What stops the rest near Houghton-le-Spring?
- Stiles, gates and cattle grids: 10% of the walks near Houghton-le-Spring that are 2.5 to 8 km long have two or more stiles, gates or cattle grids.
- Does a walk that passes have no stiles at all?
- Not always. It has at most one stile, gate or cattle grid that the map knows about. Some are missing from the map and some have gone from the ground, and a stile can be swapped for a gate, or a new one put up, before the map catches up.
The same checks, near the nearest towns
Nearest first. The share is of every walk measured near each town.