M40 Junction 13 Oakley Woods dog walk, Warwickshire
Photo © Driving with Dogs 
Photo © Driving with Dogs 
Photo © Driving with Dogs 
Photo © Driving with Dogs
Description
Calm, peaceful and tranquil walking here with lots of top-class sniffing for dogs! The paths are all clear and well walked. Inside the wood you can sometimes see the earthworks of an ancient fort. Difficult to spot at first but once you've got your eye in it's clear that this was quite a big structure back in the day.
Details
GPS coords for car park: 52.2332, -1.5593 Parking is free, and either the first car park on the entrance land to the crematorium; or a bit further on there's a pull-in. We sometimes use the facilities at the Warwick Services, and grab a sandwich, and then head here for walkies and a picnic.
Walk
Easy-peasy walking on well-defined paths through the trees. Oakley Wood surrounds the crematorium, but don't let this put you off. The paths are well looked after and the woodland is spacious enough for dogs to enjoy a sniff and zooming, but not so large you fear losing the way back. Free parking near the entrance.
Bigbookworm
Pink 220 Points
Esmeralda1653
Green 25 PointsPerfect walk for active dogs
This is a beautiful natural woodland area with clearly marked paths and a choice of long or short routes. Very wet and muddy when we visited, which our dogs loved! Please be mindful that it is a nature reserve and keep dogs under control (they can be off-lead), and in the car park be respectful of people visiting the adjacent garden of remembrance and crematorium. Otherwise, put your wellies on and enjoy this little gem of a walk with your dogs!
France
Green 35 PointsDog walk near the M40 motorway
Really lovely spot for a nice woodland walk with the dog. The first car park has only got 12 to 15 spaces and if you go to the second one there is much more room. We picked up some beautiful chestnuts in the woods
samwaf53
Green 72 PointsGreat Off-lead Walking
Despite this being within a 15 minute drive of home, we made our first-ever visit to it today, based on the other reviews we've read. Our dog loved it! Lots of tracks to explore and much sniffing to be done. We'll be visiting more regularly from now on.
Sidrider
Green 115 PointsOff lead, close to motorway
Great off lead walk in the woods, very close to the motorway. Would be very muddy in the wet. We did the shorter blue route which is meant to take 30 mins according to the notice board but only took us 15 mins, so would do the longer red route next time. No picnic benches but we found a nice log to sit on. Would stop here again.
Bridgerarchie
Green 100 PointsGreat walk, very close to the motorway
Really lovely, peaceful walk with very easy access off the motorway. We did the loop walk which took us about 30 minutes. It was safe for dogs to be off the lead for a lovely run. We'll definitely stop there again.
Edited: 29th March 2024. The details of this listing may have changed, and though the Driving with Dogs team do our best to confirm the accuracy of every listing, we cannot guarantee that the details are fully up to date and accurate. If you know that any aspect of this listing is incorrect, please suggest an edit to let us know.
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Perfect for an off-lead sniff and leg stretch
I discovered this gem on the southbound trip and loved it so much that I came again on my return northbound journey. The woodland is so close to the motorway junction and yet a whole world away from the travel stress.
There are no public toilets available, so stop first at the nearby services of Warwick North if you are northbound. Unfortunately there are no services close before Oakley Woods if you are southbound, so please plan your journey accordingly!
I parked in the well signposted crematorium car park and took the path on the left that runs parallel to the road. The car park is really close to the crematorium area, so don't let your dog off lead until you've moved away from this area and through the gate.
Once in the woods there are a few well trodden tracks to follow. The longest route will see you back to the car in less than an hour - and this includes lots of sniffing time! Basically all of the paths circle round the crematorium at different distances and there are a plenty of opportunities to cut back to a shorter path, so don't panic about getting lost. However, if you are navigationally challenged I would recommend taking a photo of the map of the woods as you pass the information board!
My dog loved her run around and I enjoyed the woodland walk too. I'll be coming back as I managed to miss the fort on both of my trips.