Bury St Edmunds Crowned the UK’s Most Dog Friendly Town

Dog-lovers have voted a Suffolk town the most dog friendly in the UK. At an awards ceremony in London this afternoon Bury St Edmunds was named the UK’s most dog friendly town after winning silver and the crown for English towns last year.

The DogFriendly Awards recognise and reward dog friendly places and pet businesses that go the extra mile for the benefit of the UK’s 12.5 million dogs and their owners. Winners of the DogFriendly Awards in each of the categories are chosen by public vote.

With more pet owners now taking their pooch on holiday with them, Bury St Edmunds has developed its own dog friendly scheme to help visitors and residents easily identify where their four-legged pal is made welcome.

Around 140 shops, eateries, places to stay, attractions and more have signed up to the scheme meaning they can display a blue paw print logo sticker and water bowl. There is a Dog-Friendly Charter created for businesses and dog owners which provides advice and guidance on how to get the most from the scheme and operate safely.

Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, which now includes the town’s official tourism brand Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, Mark Cordell said: “It is fantastic that Bury St Edmunds not only reached the finals for a second successive year, but has gone one better and is now the most dog friendly town in the UK. On behalf of all the businesses, thank you to everyone who voted for us.

“With Bury St Edmunds welcoming dogs in many of our businesses, there are a lot that go the extra mile offering items on their menus, free snacks for dogs and more. It means that residents and visitors know that they can stay longer in town and don’t have to leave their four-legged member of their family at home because many of our local accommodation businesses offer dog stays too.

“In addition, this last year the town’s tour guides have started to offer dog friendly tours to visitors and St Edmundsbury Cathedral, which is also dog friendly, has even published a dogs of the Cathedral calendar for 2025 so there are even more reasons for waggy tails all round.”

Jon Kay, from Camp Tails Doggy Daycare, who founded the town’s dog friendly scheme with help from Bury St Edmunds Town Council, Our Bury St Edmunds BID, and Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, added: “I was honoured to represent Bury St Edmunds at the awards ceremony again and so proud to receive the award on behalf of local businesses and a passionate group behind the scenes going over and above to make our canine chums welcome. It was an amazing day although we had our fingers and paws crossed right up until the announcement. I’d like to thank everyone who voted for us and recognised all that Bury St Edmunds does to be dog friendly.”​

For more information about Bury St Edmunds Dog Friendly Scheme visit www.dogfriendlybse.co.uk or watch the video on YouTube, which gives a real dog’s eye view of the town.