17 best dog-friendly cottages in the Lake District

A Grade II listed Windermere house designed by Augustus Pugin, sleeping sixteen across five bedrooms and taking up to four dogs — the combination big multi-family groups struggle to find. Both front and rear gardens are enclosed, there's a private hot tub for eight in its own garden building, an Aga, an open fire and an eighteen-seat cinema room for the wet afternoons. Three steps up to the entrance, and a £400 security deposit applies.

A snug 250-year-old cottage for two (plus one dog) in the hamlet of Ings, just east of Windermere. Thick stone walls, a great deal of character, and one real draw for a dog holiday — the award-winning Watermill pub sits fifty yards from the door. It's fine walking and cycling country on the edge of the Kentmere valley, and an easy base for Windermere and Staveley. A cosy bolthole rather than a family base — one bedroom, one dog.

A four-bedroom sleeping eight in Little Langdale, with the Langdale fells walkable from the door and an enclosed lawned garden to come back to. Two dogs welcome and — unusually — at no charge, though cottages.com's free-pet status can shift seasonally, so confirm when you book. Wood burner, a utility and drying room for the kit. No dog-specific extras listed, but the space and the walking are the draw for a bigger group with dogs.

An eighteenth-century cottage in tiny Helton, on the quiet eastern side of the Lakes above Ullswater, with a wood burner, original features and an enclosed terraced garden at the front. Two dogs stay free, doggy extras come as standard, and the walking starts at the door — this is red-squirrel country, with two good pubs a mile off in Askham. The uncrowded Lakes, which for a dog is rather the point.

At the foot of Blencathra near Mungrisdale, a two-bedroom with fell walks from the door and the rare offer of on-site kennels for a day that won't suit the dog. One dog only, currently free of charge (confirm — cottages.com's free-pet status moves seasonally), with an enclosed garden and a shared drying room and games room on the farm. Shop and pub are two miles off, so stock up on the way in.

A two-bedroom in Gosforth, the quiet western gateway to Wasdale and England's deepest lake, for two dogs. The listing advertises "doggy extras" but doesn't say what they are, so treat them as a pleasant unknown rather than a reason to book. One honest gap worth flagging — it doesn't state whether the garden is enclosed, so if a secure boundary matters for your dog, ask cottages.com before you commit. Wast Water and the Scafells are the draw out here.

A converted barn in the woods at Satterthwaite, a mile from Grizedale Forest and fifty yards from the village pub — which is about the ideal geometry for a walking week with a dog. Two dogs stay free, there's a properly enclosed rear garden with a barbecue, and the ground-floor utility is set up for drying off a filthy dog before it reaches the wood burner. Quiet, practical and genuinely dog-built rather than merely dog-tolerant.

A converted chapel in the quiet Lowick Green hamlet at the southern edge of the Lakes, sleeping eight under high vaulted ceilings, oak beams and leaded windows, with a galleried mezzanine bedroom. It's a proper group base for a walking week — a utility the owners call ideal for drying and feeding the dog, the Farmers Arms within a mile, and the dog-friendly sands of Bardsea five miles off. Honest note — the walled back garden is lovely but, the owners say, not secure enough to leave a larger dog out alone.

The dog credentials here are the best in this guide — a dedicated dog-wash station in the basement with shampoo, towels and a dryer, bowls upstairs, and dogs allowed throughout, bedrooms included. A three-bedroom early-1900s house a ten-minute downhill walk from Bowness and the lake, with a hot tub on the patio. The enclosed outdoor space is paved courtyard rather than lawn, and the listing doesn't state a dog limit — confirm numbers when you book.

One dog only here, but well looked after — a dog bed, bowls and treats are provided, and the enclosed rear courtyard gives somewhere safe to let them out. A three-bedroom five minutes' walk from Bowness shops and the lake, with a wood burner for the evenings. The single-dog cap is firm, so this is one for the one-dog household rather than the pair.

A three-bedroom in Grasmere with a genuinely secure enclosed garden — the thing that matters most when you've a dog and a fell day behind you. Two dogs welcome throughout; the owners ask you to bring throws for the furniture, and there's a separate utility and boot room for muddy kit and dog beds. Wood burner (bring your own logs), and a ten-minute walk to the village and the dog-friendly Tweedies Bar.

Two bedrooms, both en-suite, with an enclosed lawned garden and fell views from the back — a tidy Coniston base for two dogs. The Black Bull is a five-minute walk for the evening, and there's an open fire with fuel included. Two operational notes worth knowing before you book — check-ins are Monday or Friday only, and guests mention an outdoor hose for muddy paws, though it's not on the official amenity list, so don't count on it.

Single-level living a few minutes from the Ullswater shore, with three pubs in Pooley Bridge — the Pooley Bridge Inn barely a minute away. Two dogs welcome, with bowls and towels provided, but be clear on two limits the listing is honest about — the outdoor space is an open patio, not an enclosed garden, and dogs aren't allowed in the bedrooms. Good drying facilities for the wet days, of which Ullswater has its share.

In Keswick's Great Crosthwaite — and yes, the Sykes web address oddly says Dumfries; ignore it, the cottage is firmly Cumbrian — a two-bedroom with two dogs welcome throughout, an enclosed side garden, and bowls, towels and biscuits laid on. The owners also run The Pheasant Inn five minutes' walk away, so the post-walk pint is sorted; at the time of writing bookings include a £15 voucher for it, though that's owner goodwill, not a fixture. Latrigg's lower fells start near the door.

Deep in Eskdale at Boot, near the little Ravenglass & Eskdale steam railway, a three-bedroom for two dogs with an outdoor hose and drying towel for the inevitable mud. Two honest limits the listing is upfront about — the front garden isn't enclosed, and dogs are ground-floor only, no upstairs and no furniture. The dog-friendly Boot Inn is a fifteen-minute walk. One of the quieter, more dramatic corners of the Lakes.

An 1899 Lakeland stone cottage in Eskdale (not on a holiday park — properly standalone) with a covered private hot tub for six and fell views. Sleeps 8 in four bedrooms across two floors, plus a sofa-bed in the snug if needed. Two dogs welcome throughout, with a boot room for muddy gear, a wood burner with logs included, raised lawn-and-stream garden, and a welcome basket with dog treats. The pub at Santon Bridge is 0.2 miles.

A two-bedroom at the southern foot of Windermere where the Lakeside & Haverthwaite steam railway runs past the end of the garden — children and dog will be equally taken. One dog only here, with an enclosed garden and a proper boot room for the wet kit. The layout is a double plus a bunk room, so it suits a small family, and the steamer pier on Windermere is a short drive for a boat trip the dog can join.