The Bark Park Bicester **REVIEW**

The Bark Park is located in Bicester, Oxfordshire 4 miles from the M40. It is approximately 1.5 acres and enclosed with 6ft fencing however, there are several important notes for consideration for many secure dog field users before choosing this field.

The field itself is lovely – it is a quite narrow area of cleared semi-mature woodland that creates a meandering walk with plenty of areas to throw a ball, play and have a good run.

There is a very serious issue with this field that must be considered by any user – particular those with traffic reactive dogs and those walking more than one dog. The parking area for this field is in an exposed lay-by on an extremely busy main road. This means that to access the field, you must get your dog/s on a lead, exit your vehicle, negotiate an agricultural gate and the padlocked main gate to the field which is set approximately 50 metres back from the road. When we visited, there were sheep in the adjacent field, also visible as you enter from the lay-by. This process must be done in reverse when leaving. This also means pulling into busy traffic – our visit was the last booking of the day and even then the traffic was busy.

This situation may be workable for some users and there is a rumour that the owners of this field may be looking for an alternative solution. If and when this changes, we will update this entry.

Fencing and Gates

The fencing is 6ft all round however is loose in many places so may not be suitable for large breed escapologists – as the field is surrounded by dense woodland, there are wildlife distractions that may attract your dog to the perimeter.

The gate is a wooden slatted gate and is secured with a digital padlock. The recommendation is to lock yourself into the field but we advise simply hooking the lock through (not closing it) as these locks are prone to fail – we have had several and have feedback from other field owners who had the same experience.

Facilities

There are some obstacles for your dog to play on in the field and a nice picnic bench.

You must take your own dog waste home as there is no waste disposal

Please bring your own water as there is none available

Summary of The Bark Park

This field would be lovely if the access and parking wasn’t so concerning. It is big enough for a nice run and there’s lots to snuffle. The fence needs attention as all dog field fencing should be tight and well maintained. There is also a bizarre inclusion in the terms and conditions which should concern any user –

The Bark Park and landowner retain full permission to enter the field to carry out inspections or potential maintenance during your booking.  ​

www.thebarkparkbicester.co.uk

Whilst this may possibly be a condition of their public liability, we would expect this to have a clarification statement along the lines of – ‘you will be informed and given the opportunity to vacate the field with your dog’ which would make users with reactive dogs far more comfortable.

This facility has the potential to be a fabulous place but we feel at the moment there is work to do.

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OXFORDSHIRE DOG FIELD OF THE YEAR SPONSORS

Thank you to the companies who have offered their generous support to the Oxfordshire Dog Field of the Year 2022 – please check them out by clicking their links below.

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