Meet Murphy and Candice, the Ashby-based pair exploring the local area to discover the best dog-friendly cafes, pubs, walks and services.

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Since welcoming Murphy last August, Candice and her family have been on a mission to improve the information available for dog owners around Ashby about the best spots to take four-legged friends, building a community of fellow doglovers sharing their own recommendations.

Murphy is a 15 month old Cavapoo (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel crossed with a poodle).

Since adopting Murphy, Candice 'quickly found it was very hard to find appropriate walks' while he was learning to walk on a lead and socialising.

She found it was difficult to find out meaningful information about dog friendly places, saying: 'there's a big difference between dogs allowed and dogs welcome.'

This is not an issue that only impacts puppy owners, with dogs of all ages often having their own needs that need to be met from walks.

Candice and her husband Greg set up Murphy and Me as a way to share new walks and give honest, candid reviews about the places they visit with Murphy.

Combining their own experience with thorough research, Murphy and Me provides real practical information for dog owners that expands far beyond just 'dog friendly'.

This includes the addition of key information like parking, terrain, livestock, lead restrictions, dog facilities, accessibility and whether there is enough space of dogs that need a bit more distance from others.

'We want to tell people what dog friendly really looks like before they get there, and ultimately help them decide whether somewhere is right for their dog.'

This provides a much more in depth image of what dog owners can expect that the usual dog friendly or not dog friendly label that locations have.

Since setting it up, they have found a real community of local dog owners who can share their own valuable experiences.

On the Murphy and Me website, Candice and Greg have created 'an honest guide to dog-friendly everything', priding themselves on using their own actual experience with the places they visit to help other dog owners make informed decisions and highlight great local places and businesses.

They share personal insights and reviews on walks - rated for walk, sniff factor and facilities - as well as cafes, pubs, services and products, as well as sharing local events.

'One of the loveliest parts,' explains Candice, 'has been hearing from people who discovered somewhere through Murphy and Me and then went off and had their own adventure there.'

As residents of the town, Ashby is at the heart of Murphy and Me. Candice says: 'Ashby is really important to us, I love the community here.'

She says that through walking Murphy around Ashby and the surrounding area, she has met and connected with lots of other dog owners.

In the future, Candice and Greg want Murphy and Me to become a site nationwide for dog owners to find out real, meaningful information about places to take their furry friends.

They have joined with their first official contributor with Vicki and her three dogs Rufus, Poppy and Evie adding more places to the site across the National Forest, building their local coverage and collecting valuable information that can really help dog owners.

Candice shared with Nub News some of her and Murphy's favourite local places.

A walk and coffee spot that holds a special place is The Pavilion following a walk at Donisthorpe Colliery and Woods, which was the first place they took Murphy as a puppy. Candice remembers feeling very nervous about bringing Murphy into a café on her own but found The Pavilion incredibly welcoming, making this one of her favourites.

Her favourite local walk at at Grace Dieu Priory in Thringstone, which combines 'beautiful woodland' with a 'gorgeous stream, stunning bluebells and the Grace Dieu Viaduct.'

She loves The Stables at Staunton Harold and The Pavilion as her favourite spot to stop for a coffee and pup cup and enjoys visiting Robin's in Oakthorpe for their cooked breakfast and 'lifesaver' dog-wash facility.

Murphy and Me also has a 'Murphy Approved' section on the website.

'We created Murphy Approved to recognise businesses that genuinely make an effort to welcome dogs and their humans,' said Candice.

'We already have eight Founding Partners, and if someone sees a 'Murphy Approved' decal in the window of a local business - such as Natural Hounds - we want that to become a trusted sign that it's somewhere that genuinely embraces being dog friendly.'

To discover more local walks, dog-friendly places to visit and get an honest insight into Candice's experience taking Murphy, visit the Murphy and Me website or Facebook and Instagram page.