Pet Friendly Hotels
Most Signpost hotels, being situated in some of the most picturesque parts of Britain and in good walking country, encourage pets and their ‘well behaved’ owners. There is usually a charge made, anything from £5 per night to cover eventual cleaning. Dogs are usually only allowed in guest bedrooms, not in public rooms.
In Scotland, for example, The Kilfinan Hotel is on Loch Fyne near Tighnabruaich with fabulous walks all around and the ferry from Portavadie takes you to the sites of the Mull of Kintyre. Stonefield Castle hotel at Tarbert has 60 acres of woodland gardens to walk in. In Dumfries & Galloway Blackaddie House at Sanquar is near Drumlanrig Castle, the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, with over 500 acres of woodland trails to explore. In Skye both Flodigarry and Viewfield House welcome dogs. In Perthshire the Four Seasons Hotel on Loch Earn has six chalets in the grounds which are particularly suitable for families with dogs. Moving North into the Highland Region, Boath House at Auldearn near Nairn has the Culbin Sands and Culbin Forest nearby. From Pool House at Poolewe there are good dog walks down Loch Maree and Forss House near Thurso has a river walk down to the beach to see St Marys Chapel. From Lynnfield House in Kirkwall, Orkney, a short car journey brings the pet owner to Scapa Flow and the Italian Chapel with miles of moor to explore.
In Yorkshire the Coniston Hotel will charge £10 for your dog to be able to roam in 1400 acres of beautiful countryside, including a 24-acre fishing lake. Middlethorpe Hall, by the racecourse in York, has 20 acres of mature gardens and parkland behind the hotel. Lastingham Grange has ten acres of mature gardens and is on the edge of the North York Moors National Park with Bransdale, Farndale and Rosedale to explore nearby.
Cumbria has miles of trails and fells to explore. Borrowdale Gates Hotel is set in two acres of wooded gardens, with a backdrop of high, rising fells close to the shores of Lake Derwentwater. Holbeck Ghyll overlooks Lake Windermere towards the Langdale Fells, and has several ground floor suites with balconies. The Pheasant has walks along Bassenthwaite Lake, whereas Aynsome Manor, Cartmel has the sands of Grange, Humphrey Head and Morecambe Bay to take dogs on. Lovelady Shield Hotel, near Alston in the High Pennines, has walks beside the river Nent and along The Pennine Way, which passes close to the hotel. The Westmorland Hotel near Tebay services on the M6 is a good place to break your journey and exercise your dog on the way to Scotland from the South.
In North Wales, the Sychnant Pass Country House is especially attractive to dog owners. It has two ground floor rooms, is in the Pensychnant Nature Reserve and the North Wales Coast Path runs nearby. The Groes Inn on the Conwy estuary borders Snowdonia National Park. Many guests and locals alike bring their dogs into the bar. Several rooms have balconies. The Hand Hotel at Llanarmon DC is at the head of the Ceiriog Valley, near the Berwyn mountains. In Pembrokeshire, Warpool Court hotel borders the Pembrokeshire Coastal path with dramatic cliff tops walks available, while The Grove at Narberth has suitable rooms in ground floor annexes.
Lake Vyrnwy Hotel & Spa in the Berwyn range has acres of trails and reservoir-side walks available. In South Wales The Lake Country House & Spa at Llangammarch Wells sits in 50 acres of its own grounds and borders the high Mynnyd Eppynt plateau (beware Ministry of Defence activity!). Gliffaes has walks along the river Usk in the hotels grounds with the Brecon Beacons on the doorstep. The Felin Fach Griffin has walks behind the inn on Llandefalle Hill, while The Swan at Hay on Wye has the river towpath and the Black Mountains to explore, along with Offa’s Dyke Path, which passes close to the hotel.