Dog-friendly Ravenglass

The railway's cafe on platform one at Ravenglass, doing light meals, snacks, ice cream and hot drinks between trains. The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway's own visitor information permits dogs on the lower floor of its station cafes, which here is the whole seating area, and there are water bowls marked "paws for a drink" around the station. Dogs must be on a short lead. It is the obvious first or last stop of a day on the line, and the estuary and the Roman bath house are five minutes' walk away.

Just under five miles and a little over two hours, 90 metres of climb: out of Ravenglass past the Roman bath house, up through Muncaster's woods to the terrace above the estuary and back by the shore. It starts at the Ravenglass village car park by the station, which is free, holds around 60 cars and is served by the Cumbrian Coast railway - the easiest car-free walk on this side of the county. The estuary shore gives a mile of firm sand at low tide and the woodland is shaded and enclosed, but check the tide before you commit to the beach return, the Muncaster estate keeps sheep in the terrace fields, and the last stretch into the village is on the shared road with no pavement.

About two miles of made paths through seventy-seven acres of wild woodland garden above the Esk, taking in the Terrace, the long grass walk that Ruskin is supposed to have called the gateway to paradise, and looping down through the Sino-Himalayan plantings and back by the Stable Yard. The rhododendrons are the reason most people come in May, but the Terrace view up Eskdale to Scafell is the reason to bring a dog in October. Dogs are admitted on a lead at no extra charge beyond a dog ticket bought on arrival, and there is a dedicated dog seating area at the 2pm Sky Hunters flying display on the Flying Meadow. Dogs cannot go into the castle state rooms or the Hawk and Owl Centre at all.

A small glamping site of five-metre canvas bell tents pitched in a wooded corner of the seventy-seven acre Muncaster gardens, each sleeping up to four. Two well-behaved dogs are welcome for an additional charge, but the estate is surrounded by working farmland and asks for dogs on a lead at all times on site. Staying here puts the whole garden and the terrace walk on the doorstep, though dogs are still barred from the castle state rooms and the Hawk and Owl Centre. Ravenglass, the estuary and the railway terminus are a mile down the hill.

Self-catering accommodation in the old stable block at Muncaster Castle, a mile above Ravenglass: nine en-suite bedrooms, a bunk room and bell tents sharing a communal kitchen, dining room and lounge. Dogs cost ten pounds each per night, up to two per room, and must be on a lead in all the public areas and never left alone in the bedroom. Staying here does not by itself get a dog into the gardens, which need a dog ticket bought on arrival, and dogs are not allowed in the castle state rooms or the Hawk and Owl Centre at all. The seventy acres of woodland garden and the Esk estuary path are on the doorstep.

Three self-catering properties owned by the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and standing on the station itself: two restored Pullman coaches, the Elmira and the Maid of Kent, each sleeping four, and Hilton Cottage on platform one, the old railway manager's house, sleeping six. All three take dogs, up to two, at twenty-five pounds a dog for a short stay or forty pounds for a week or more. Staying here does not include travel, so a dog still needs its own five-pound ticket to ride up the valley. The estuary, the Roman bath house and Muncaster woods are all within a mile on foot.

A twenty-two bedroom hotel on Ravenglass main street, owned by the Pennington family of Muncaster and a two-minute walk from both the tidal estuary and the terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. Most rooms can be arranged as dog-friendly on request for ten pounds per dog per night, and the hotel keeps a separate morning room, seating sixteen, so that guests with dogs can eat with them rather than leave them upstairs. Reserving that room in advance is advised because it is small. The estuary path and the Muncaster woods start from the village, so the walking is genuinely on the doorstep.

A lived-in castle above the Esk estuary with seventy acres of wild woodland garden, a hawk and owl centre and terrace views to the Scafells. Dogs go free in the gardens provided they are on a lead and cleaned up after, and there is a separate doggy seating area for the bird of prey displays; the Castle state rooms and the Hawk and Owl Centre are out of bounds.

The fifteen-inch gauge line, known locally as La'al Ratty, runs seven miles up from the estuary at Ravenglass to Dalegarth for Boot at the head of Eskdale, and it takes dogs the whole way for a flat fare. Dogs are allowed on the trains, in the ticket offices and gift shops, and on the lower floors of both the Turntable Cafe at Ravenglass and Fellbites at Dalegarth, but not in the Joan Pullman observation carriage, First Class carriage 140 or the Ruth director's saloon. Water bowls marked "paws for a drink" are set out around both terminals. Most of the open carriages are unglazed, so a wet dog and a wet walker dry out at much the same rate.