Seaford: the beach that cannot go wrong

Some outings need planning. Seaford needs none, which is exactly why we rate it. The drive is convenient, parking beside Keast Park is easy, and the dog beach is off-leash year round, so it works in October as well as January.

The sand is long, soft and clean, and the water stays shallow a long way out. Pepsi ran straight in and started laps before wandering off down the sand on his own terms. Max went further in and stayed longer, as he does. The neighbour's golden came along for this one, so we ran a three-dog operation.

Max: Keep your humans honest near the boundary markers. The rules change faster than they expect once the sand keeps going.

That is the one real catch: the off-leash section has neighbouring stretches with different rules, and it is very easy to keep walking and cross from leash-free into leash-only or no-dogs territory without noticing. Watch the signs. There is no fencing anywhere, so recall matters.

Dog-friendly eateries sit within reach of Keast Park for afterwards. Rules and detail in the Seaford dog beach guide.