Dog-friendly Lakeside and around

A large lakeshore hotel at the foot of Windermere, next to the pier where the Lakeside and Haverthwaite steam railway meets the lake steamers. The hotel takes two dogs per room at twenty-five pounds per dog per night and publishes no restriction on size, age or breed. Dogs may go into John Ruskin's Brasserie and the Conservatory but not into the Lakeview Restaurant unless they are assistance dogs. The Garden Rooms have their own private gardens, which is the sensible choice with a dog, and the hotel asks that dogs sleep in their own beds and stay off the furniture.

A former coaching inn on the Leven at the foot of Windermere, now a resort with a spa, marina and three places to eat. Dogs are welcome in the Swan Inn pub, the lounge and the terrace but not in the Brasserie, and up to two can stay in the Fabulous rooms, family suite or cottages, where a bowl is put out for them.

A hillside inn on Strawberry Bank above the Winster valley, looking across to the Whitbarrow scar, and a natural stop off the Cartmel Fell and Gummer's How walks. The pub describes itself as proudly dog friendly and takes dogs in the bar, in the dining rooms, on the terrace and in all of its accommodation, suites and holiday cottages alike. The terrace is the reason most people come in summer, and it is a long way from the nearest bus, so a car is more or less required. The lane up from Bowland Bridge is narrow and steep.

A preserved steam branch line running three and a half miles up the Leven valley from Haverthwaite through Newby Bridge to the pier at Lakeside, where the trains connect with the Windermere steamers. The railway states that the station welcomes dogs and that they ride the train free of charge, which makes it one of the cheapest days out in the district with a dog. The tea room at Haverthwaite station is open daily from nine until half four with last food orders at three. The 2026 steam season runs from 28 March to 1 November.

A Winster valley inn on the A5074 that farms and brews much of what it serves, with its own estate land behind the pub. Dogs are more than welcome in the bar area, but the inn states that dogs are not allowed in the restaurant, so a table with a dog means eating on the bar side. Two of the nine en-suite bedrooms are dog friendly, and no charge is published for them. It sits between Bowness and the Lyth valley, handy after Gummer's How or a Winster valley round.

A country manor bed and breakfast half a mile up the lane from Cartmel Priory, with four first-floor rooms, numbers five to eight, kept for guests with dogs. One dog per room at twenty-five pounds a night, paid when the room is reserved, and the house provides its own sanitised dog beds rather than allowing guests to bring their own. Dogs may use Bamford's, the dog owners' sitting room, and the courtyard beside it, and may join you at breakfast by arrangement with the house manager, but not the other public rooms. There is a dog wash with hot and cold water for after the walk, and a dog-sitting service at twenty-five pounds an hour with a three-hour minimum.

Eight thousand acres of forest between Coniston Water and Windermere, threaded with waymarked trails, sculpture and easy-access paths from the visitor centre. Dogs are allowed on the trails and there is a cafe and shop at the centre; the forest is worked, so expect timber lorries on the roads.