Dog lovers from across the Burnham-On-Sea area headed to the town’s first Sea Dogs Festival on Saturday (April 30th).
The inaugural event took place on the beach alongside the South Esplanade and also marked National Pet Month.
A steady flow of dog owners and lovers visited the festival, which was set up to promote responsible dog owning, raise the profile of Burnham-On-Sea as a place for dogs to visit, and highlight the health benefits of dog ownership.
Sarah Milner Simonds, co-organiser of the the new event, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Saturday saw bright sunshine and Burnham seafront full of dogs and happy faces at the first Sea Dogs Festival.”
“We wanted to organise a fun, informative day out aimed at dog owners and dog lovers that gave us an opportunity to showcase Burnham-On-Sea. We chose the last day of the dog access to some of the beaches to highlight the seasonal rules.”
These photos, taken by David Whatley, Luke Organ and Burnham-On-Sea.com, show some of the competitors at the event.
Co-organiser Beverley Milner Simonds added: “We had over 150 entries to various fun dog show classes and over 800 people came along to this first event. We gathered some great feedback on what people want more of.”
“Listening to shops and cafes on The Esplanade and in town they also benefited from an increase in footfall. It was really nice to hear from the street cleaning team that despite the large increase in dogs, there was no fouling.”
The rules on which beaches dogs can access changes to the summer rules bertween 1st May and 30th September each year.
Between these dates owners can’t take a dog onto the beaches between the Yacht Club and the Jetty and the Pavilion and the end of the sea wall/Maddocks Slade. Dogs can never go on the beach between the Jetty and the Pavilion and have unrestricted year-round access to the six miles of sandy beach north of Maddocks Slade and the end of the sea wall.
National Pet Month is about promoting responsible pet ownership across the UK by encouraging people to hold events like the Sea Dogs Festival.
BBC Radio Bristol’s Emma Britton and MP James Heappey were among the visitors during the day, as pictured here.
Photos from David Whatley, Luke Organ and Burnham-On-Sea.com
Also see:
What’s on in Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge
