Dog-friendly The Yorkshire Dales

A family-run sixteenth-century inn between Skipton and Grassington, with log fires, candlelit tables and Cracoe Fell rising behind. Dogs get treats on arrival and there is a menu for them too; they are welcome by the log burner in the bar as well as in the restaurant. Two bedrooms take dogs for a nightly supplement.

A whitewashed former farmworkers' cottage turned pub in a hamlet ringed by the hills of Upper Wharfedale, with flagstone floors, low beams and a big stone fireplace. Dogs are welcome and there is a jar of dog treats kept on the bar. Note it closes on Mondays and Tuesdays and can shut early on quiet nights.

A small independent bar and bistro in the centre of Settle, useful for a drink and a plate of something after a day on the Ribble Way. The tourist board lists it as having dog-friendly seating, so dogs are catered for in part of the room rather than throughout. Worth ringing ahead at busy times as the space is compact.

A pub and small hotel on Middleham's little market square, open all day for coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in racing country. Dogs are welcome inside, a water bowl is put down for them and there is a resident pub dog to do the honours. Dogs are taken in the bedrooms too for a small nightly charge.

A former CAMRA Pub of the Year on Settle's High Street, open all day with six cask ales, home-cooked food and a good open fire for rough weather. Dogs are welcome in all areas alongside walkers and children, and there is a large beer garden round the back. Five minutes from the Settle to Carlisle station.

A repeatedly award-winning micropub on Albert Street near the canal and the station, with six cask ales, six craft kegs and no music or televisions. Among the most genuinely dog-minded rooms in Skipton: jars of free dog bar snacks to dip into, water bowls everywhere and bottled dog beer for sale. Well-behaved dogs only.

A small speciality coffee bar in Leyburn turning out artisan coffee and cakes, described by the regional tourist board as a dog-friendly gem. Dogs come inside with you rather than being tied up on the pavement. A good first stop before the walk out along the Leyburn Shawl.

A small independent coffee house in the middle of Grassington doing breakfasts, proper hot drinks and cakes. Listed by the regional tourist board as a dog-friendly cafe, so dogs may come in with you rather than waiting outside. A useful first stop before the walk down to the river.

Relaxed cafe at the Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre, right beside the main car park for the waterfalls. Dog friendly inside as well as at the outdoor tables, with friendly staff known to fetch fresh water for visiting dogs. Soups, scones and home-made gelato make it the natural end to the falls walk.

Cyclists' cafe and cakery at Fremington, a five-minute walk from Reeth across the Swale. The cafe is dog friendly and people friendly, with upwards of twenty-five home-baked cakes on display most days and seating inside, in the courtyard or on the lawn. Open daily; note dogs cannot stay in the accommodation pods.

Legendary bikers' and walkers' cafe on Hawes Market Place, serving big Yorkshire breakfasts and mugs of tea. Dogs are not allowed inside, but the outdoor seating on the cobbles welcomes them and staff will bring a water bowl on request. A cheerful pit stop before Hardraw Force or the Pennine Way.

A fifteenth-century inn turned five-rosette restaurant, and remarkably relaxed about dogs for a kitchen at this level. Dogs are welcome in the bar and in one designated part of the dining room, so you can eat properly without leaving the dog in the car. Two bedrooms, a suite and a studio, take dogs and come with beds and bowls.

Four and a half easy miles in a little over two hours up one side of Littondale to Litton and back down the other, on level meadow paths beside the shallow River Skirfare with barely any climbing. Start on the wide green at Arncliffe by the Falcon Inn, where roadside parking is free and the dale is quiet enough that you may not meet another walker; there is no bus. Littondale is a working sheep dale from end to end so leads are needed throughout, and the wall crossings are classic Dales stone stiles, some very narrow indeed; the Skirfare runs dry in places in high summer but there are pools by the stepping stones, and note that the ford below Litton is impassable after rain.

Three and a half miles in about two hours to two hidden waterfalls in a deep wooded ravine, on field paths and a narrow, rooty, often muddy gorge path with steps and a short scramble at Whitfield Gill. Start at St Oswald's church in Askrigg, where there is free parking on the cobbles outside the Kings Arms; the Little White Bus links Askrigg with Hawes and Leyburn. The gorge path is close to a steep drop into the beck and is no place for a dog off the lead, and there are stone squeeze stiles on the field sections that a wide dog will not fit through; the beck below the falls is shallow and cold for a drink on the way back.

Four miles and around two and a half hours through the finest limestone amphitheatre in Craven, past Warrendale Knotts and the cave mouths of Victoria and Jubilee, with a long steep climb out of the town to start and rocky, slippery ground in places. Start from Settle market place; parking is pay-and-display and Settle station on the Settle-Carlisle line is five minutes away, which makes this one of the few Dales walks you can do properly by train. This is open access limestone grazing with sheep everywhere and short leads required from 1 March to 31 July for ground-nesting birds, there are ladder stiles over the walls that no dog can climb, and the cave entrances and scar edges are unfenced drops.

An easy hour-and-a-half circuit from the National Park Centre taking in all three tiers of Aysgarth Falls, where the Ure thunders over broad limestone steps. The route runs through Freeholders' Wood and private working farmland shared with sheep, so dogs must be kept on a lead throughout. Good paths, viewing platforms, pay-and-display parking, toilets and the dog-friendly Coppice Cafe at the start.

The gentle riverside circuit around the ruined priory and the stepping stones over the Wharfe, the best-known short walk in the southern Dales. The estate states that well-behaved dogs are most welcome but must be kept on a lead along the Priory Trail. Water taps and dog tethering points are provided outside all three estate shops, though only assistance dogs may go inside them.

Seven miles and some 500 metres of ascent, five hours or so, up Buckden Rake and the old lead mine track to the 702-metre summit, south along the wall to the Polish airmen's memorial cross, then down to Starbotton and back on the Dales Way. The top is peat bog and can be genuinely wet and featureless in cloud; start from the National Park car park in Buckden, the last reliable parking in upper Wharfedale. This is fell walking with sheep on every part of it, and the summit plateau is open access land where dogs must be on a short lead from 1 March to 31 July; there is no water on the ridge at all, so carry your own for the dog and top up at Buckden Beck on the way up.

A stone hotel on the A684 at the Aysgarth Falls end of the village, minutes from the woodland paths to the Upper, Middle and Lower Force. The hotel sets aside a category of dog-friendly rooms, which must be chosen at the time of booking. A practical base for Freeholders Wood and the Wensleydale valley walks.

Quiet family-run caravan and camping park in old walled hay meadows just above Hawes, with big Wensleydale views. Well-behaved dogs are most welcome but must be kept on a lead around the park, which sits amid working sheep pasture. Pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes plus a handful of pods; open April to October.

Riverside hotel and bistro reached by its own little stone footbridge, and one of the most dog-friendly stays in the country: every room, the dining areas and the log-fire snug all welcome dogs, who stay free. Biscuits, water and dog mats are provided, and Malham Cove is a stroll from the garden. Also notable as England's first fully plant-based hotel.

Family-run park on the banks of the River Ribble two miles north of Settle, close to Stainforth Force. Two dogs are welcome per pitch, with a securely fenced exercise field for off-lead runs and the river for a paddle; leads elsewhere on site. The on-site Knights Table restaurant welcomes well-behaved dogs too.

One of Yorkshire's oldest inns, a fifteenth-century house overlooking Bainbridge's broad village green in the middle of Wensleydale. Oak beams, open fires, three bars and eleven en-suite rooms, with pets warmly welcomed across many areas of the hotel. Semerwater and the Roman road over Wether Fell start close by.

Country-house hotel above Hardraw with grand views over Wensleydale, a short walk from Hardraw Force. Dogs are welcome in the bar, orangery and terrace but not the dining room, and dog-friendly rooms (twenty-five pounds per night) come with a welcome pack of treats, bags and bowls; there is even a warm outdoor tap for muddy paws.

Paul Theakston's famous independent brewery on the edge of Masham, with daily tours, the Sheepy Shop and a popular bar and kitchen. Dogs are welcome in the bar and bistro seating areas, and the venue is a regular haunt for walkers doing the Masham riverside circuit; production tours themselves are not suitable for dogs. Expect the full range of Black Sheep ales at the source.

The substantial ruins of a Premonstratensian abbey set in a bend of the Swale, reached by an easy mile-and-a-half riverside walk from Richmond Castle. English Heritage confirms that dogs on leads are welcome throughout the site, and admission is free. One of the most rewarding short walks in Richmondshire for anyone with a dog.

Spectacular show cave reached by the pretty mile-and-a-half nature trail up the wooded valley from Clapham village. Unusually for a show cave, well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome on the trail, inside the cave itself and in the Old Sawmill Cafe, and there is no charge for the dog. Guided tours run along a concrete floodlit path past 350-million-year-old formations.

Mighty Norman fortress towering above the Swale, one of the oldest stone castles in England, now cared for by English Heritage. Dogs on leads are welcome to explore the grounds, and water bowls are set out near the entrance. The wall-top views over the river and town are superb, and the riverside Batts walk starts directly below.

One of the best-preserved medieval castles in England, over 900 years old and fully roofed, at the top of Skipton High Street. Well-behaved dogs on short leads are welcome throughout the castle and grounds, excluding only the tea room and shop. Combine with the adjoining Castle Woods for a full dog-friendly outing.

The historic home of Old Peculier, brewing in Masham since 1827, with guided tours daily from the Black Bull in Paradise visitor centre bar. Dogs are restricted to the small covered outdoor seating area; the indoor bar and brewery tours are people-only. Fine for a quick half with the dog in tow, but the White Bear or Black Sheep bar suit a longer session better.