There isn’t an idea much more enticing than a weekend away from it all, unless perhaps it was in a deftly designed, secluded cottage with your canine companion, and all the comforts they — and you — could need.
So, whether you’re sniffing out the trails of England’s national parks, searching for sand and serenity on the dunes of the Cornish coast or simply seeking a fire-warmed stint in a cosy countryside cabin, we’ve gathered the best dog-friendly cottages in the UK for your pack.
The Treehouses at Wildhive Callow Hall
Peak District
Formerly a magistrate’s house, 19th-century Wildhive Callow Hall is renowned for its unwavering commitment to style and sustainability, and its ambling proximity to the Peak District National Park. The main house’s Victorian Gothic façade sits amid enchanting woodland, where an apiary helps to pollinate the park, organic gardens supply the restaurant with fresh produce and dog-welcoming Treehouses seem to float in the canopy. Each stilted space is a luxe ode to playfulness, with nature-nodding details (pressed floral artwork, repurposed timber panelling) and a freestanding copper bath tub on the terrace, from which you can watch over wildlife. Pups will be equally comfortable here, and they’ll have 35 acres of bluebell-carpeted grounds to sniff around.
Nearby walks The southern Peak District’s trails are on your doorstep, and the hotel’s map room will guide you around its rambling routes.
Price per pooch £30 for the full stay, which includes beds, bowls and blankets.
The Fall Suites at Linthwaite House
Lake District
Perched at the top of a hill, admiring Lake Windermere, Linthwaite House is your bijou base for exploring the expansive Lake District National Park. There’s a poetic beauty to the gabled exteriors of the hotel’s Edwardian manse (you feel native scribe William Wordsworth would have felt at home here), and you’ll be itching to frolic among daffodils. But first make Fido at home in one of the standalone Fell Suites, which have woodland-watching windows, cosy corners and easy outdoor access. Pups won’t be allowed in the main house, but with 14 acres to roam and the Park’s trails no more than a trot away, there’s plenty to distract any dog.
Nearby walks Windermere’s shoreline makes for idyllic wanders, or more serious hikers and their hounds may want to summit Orrest Head’s lofty peak.
Price per pooch £35 for the full stay, which includes beds, bowls and treats.
The Cottages at Newhall Mains
Scotland
Newhall Mains is a hotel with a long history of hosting four-legged friends. The Ramsey family have tended this former working farm on Scotland‘s Highlands-set Black Isle for generations, and show the same devotion to animals on-site today. Two of the freestanding cottages — Irene and Red Gates — are suitably set-up for dogs with beds, bowls brimming with treats, log-burners to lie by, and window seats where they can safely survey the family’s roaming livestock.
Nearby walks For by-the-sea saunters, drive to Rosemarkie Beach (around a 10-minute journey), which stretches for a mile along the Moray Firth. The waterfalls of Fairy Glen, and Cromarty Hill Walk are equally scenic alternatives.
Price per pooch £15 a night, which includes beds and treats.
The Lodges at Bovey Castle
Devon
It’s a full-clan affair at Bovey Castle, a grand residence with a distinctly English air amid the eastern tors of Devon‘s Dartmoor National Park. Pups can prance about freely around the 275-acre grounds, and they’re welcome to bed down in fire-warmed lounges in the main house (including the cavernous Cathedral Room), but the wooded lodges are where pets and families will feel most at home. These secluded stays come with kitted-out kitchens, trios of expertly styled bedrooms and private outdoor space for little and four-legged Smiths to burn off any remaining steam. Though, with such sprawling surroundings, and the moor’s panoramic paths mere minutes away, we’re quite sure they’ll be sufficiently sleepy come evening.
Nearby walks The four-mile Teign Gorge route, which follows its namesake river through Fingle Woods, is our pick for walkies. Dogs are welcome to roam free along most of the trail, just be sure to pop them on the leash around livestock.
Price per pooch £25 a night, which includes bedding and bowls.
Gardener’s Cottage at Thyme
Cotswolds
Heading up lists for all-English escapes is the Cotswolds, and for good reason. There are quaint villages, characterful streets coloured with the region’s honey-hued stone, and snoozing pups in almost every cosseting pub. And regional charm is practically built into the weathered walls of the Gardener’s Cottage at Thyme. The 17th-century house is set within the storied hotel’s 150-acre Southrop estate, and has all your trad Cotswolds essentials covered: log-burning fireplaces, sink-in sofas, baskets of homemade biscuits. Four-legged friends will be welcomed with pats at The Swan pub and Baa Bar, and an award-winning spa means pet parents will feel just as pampered.
Nearby walks Dogs have to be on-lead in the hotel’s grounds, but as long as your recall is reliable, they’re welcome to roam free along the River Leach loop and around the National Trust’s Buscot and Coleshill Estate, a haven of off-leash fields and woodlands.
Price per pooch £50 a night, which includes water and food bowls, towels and a paw cleaner.
Three Mile Beach
Cornwall
Networks of national park trails are always a safe bet for keeping hounds happy, but if they’d prefer swims in the sea and sandy snouts, then Three Mile Beach is where they’ll feel most at home. Set along the shores of Cornwall’s St Ives Bay, each light-bathed beach house is adorned with coastal trimmings, and has a cushy king-size bed, fully equipped kitchen and a batch of board games for when the weather’s misbehaving. Bowls, beds and a warm fireside to snooze on will keep canines in clover, and huts come with gated gardens for off-lead foraging; while accompanying humans will love the sunken hot tub and sauna. Local pubs and eateries are notably dog-friendly around here, but catch the hotel’s pretty, pink food truck on its early-evening rounds for a tapas feast at home.
Nearby walks The two-mile trail to Godrevy Head is revered for its scenic route past Mutton Cove — a popular pitstop for seal spotting. Pups can be let off the lead year-round on the beach between Gwithian and Mexico Towans, a five-minute walk from your hut.
Price per pooch £50 for the full stay, which includes beds, bowls and towels.
The Forest Cottages and Cabins at Lime Wood
New Forest
Lime Wood was a hunting lodge back in the 13th century — before becoming a regal base for the Duke of Clarence. These days, the royal treatment comes courtesy of its stellar staff; and the only scents you’ll be chasing down are in the walled estate’s manicured gardens. The Forest Cottages and Cabins are your dog-accommodating abodes, and their meadow-side setting isn’t their only draw: interiors are a contemporary nod to the natural surroundings, warmed with crackling fireplaces and sofas to snuggle in; and there’s a freestanding tub ready to soothe walkies-weary limbs.
Nearby walks You’re in the My Little Pony part of the New Forest National Park here, and the hotel has a namesake trail that loops around the woodlands and through the Pondhead Conservation Area. They may look cute, but these ponies are far from tame, so keep your dog on a leash and at a safe distance; and remember it’s against the law for walkers to feed them.
Price per pooch £30 a night, which includes beds and bowls.
Rest + Wild Shropshire Hills
Shropshire
Go off-grid at Rest + Wild in the Shropshire Hills, a collection of secluded cabins on the Downton Hall Estate (no relation to the TV show), where glowing screens are shunned in favour of pastoral pursuits (much to your doggie’s delight). Each converted hut comes with all the trappings you’ll need for a snug stay, including a kitchenette, wood-burning stove, games and books. Outdoors, there’s a fire pit to keep you cosy and a freestanding tub for scenic soaks come summer — just keep a watchful eye on the estate’s roaming flocks of sheep.
Nearby walks Pups will have to stay on the lead around to avoid any herding temptations, but the two-hour Brown Clee Circular Walk and National Trust-managed Carding Mill Valley both welcome free running.
Price per pooch £25 for the full stay, which includes a bowl.
For more tail-wagging wonders, discover our full collection of luxury dog- and pet-friendly hotels. And take walkies to the next level with our beginner’s guide to England’s national parks