Taking a dog for a walk in Exmoor National Park is a great way to keep fit and enjoy the breathtaking scenery and fresh air. However, it's worth remembering that, as well as red deer and Exmoor ponies, the Park supports a wide range of distinctive flora and fauna which can provide a whole new experience for you and your dog. The following areas are well known for their exhilarating walks and beautiful wildlife. Remember to keep dogs under close control at all times and always follow the Countryside Code.

1) Luxborough - Timberscombe
Croydon Hill is a popular spot for nightjars in the summer months and these visitors from the sub-Sahara can be heard at dusk - listen for their characteristic churring sound and wing flappings.

2) Dunkery Beacon - Wootton Courtenay - Timberscombe
The distinctive hazel (Corylus avellana) coppice in Mansley Combe has its own population of dormice. These rare and elusive creatures spend most of their time in the tree canopy. Nevertheless, dormice have a varied diet, including hazelnuts and evidence of their existence can be found on fallen fruits and nuts - look for neat round holes with small teeth marks on the outside.

Stonechats are one of Exmoor's most distinctive moorland birds and they can be seen perching on top of Gorse (Ulex species) bushes on Dunkery Hill. The males have a black head and throat with white neck markings and a reddish breast.

3) Winsford - Kennisham Hill
If you are out and about on an evening stroll in the summer, listen for nightjars on Kennisham Hill.

4) Haddon Hill - Hartford - Wimbleball Lake
Haddon Hill is one of the few remaining heathland areas within the Brendon Hills and it supports some beautiful heathland flowers, including heather, bell heather, whortleberry and tormentil. The National Park has recently felled part of the Hadborough Plantation and this is being restored to heathland. One of the National Park Authority's herd of Exmoor ponies is helping to graze the heathland vegetation.

The Haddeo Valley is rich in native upland oak which can be found in most of the local woodlands. Many of the trees are covered in mosses and lichens and these are due to the high rainfall and clean atmosphere. Bird enthusiasts should be able to locate Pied flycatchers and wood warblers which frequent these woods.

5) Simonsbath - Warren Farm - Alderman's Barrow - Exford - Pickedstones
If you follow the route from Warren Farm towards Alderman's Barrow, then the grass moorland of Exmoor Forest can be seen to the North. The surrounding area is clothed in the characteristic tussocks of purple moor-grass which turns white in the winter months.

Skylarks are common visitors in this area and are easily distinguished by their glorious song as they hover overhead. Meadow pipits can also be seen flitting around in lower vegetation.

6) County Gate - Robbers Bridge
Dippers can be seen diving underwater for food on Oare Water - they are brown with a white bib. Otters are also known in this watercourse - you'll be lucky to see them as they are most active in the evening and early morning.

Dartford warblers have started breeding on the coastal heathland at County Gate. They were formerly associated with more lowland heathland areas (they first bred on Exmoor in 1995) and there are now over 70 pairs across the Park.

7) Malmstead - Badgworthy Water
The golden plover and hen harrier are regular winter visitors. The hen harrier is a magnificent bird of prey with v-shaped wings. The males are pale with grey and white colouring, black wing tips and a white rump.

8) Challacombe - Woolhanger - Broad Mead
Blanket bog is found on the moorland areas where there is a good depth of peat - Broad Mead is a classic example with waterlogging and naturally acidic conditions. If you look closely into any of these bogs, you will see a mixture of associated bog plants, such as asphodel, cotton grass, heather and a thick layer of sphagnum mosses.