Dog-friendly Knaresborough

A famously narrow multi-storey ale house on Knaresborough market place, in the Good Beer Guide for more than thirty consecutive years. It describes itself as a cosy, dog-friendly pub, with a clean water bowl and doggy treats kept on the bar and no objection to a dog on the stairs.

An Ossett Brewery house on Cheapside, a few steps off the market place and an easy stroll from Nidd Gorge. Dogs are welcomed throughout the pub, with the sensible house rule that they stay on a lead and off the seats.

Country dining pub on Wetherby Road at Plompton, between Knaresborough and Spofforth. Dogs are welcome in the bar area and the garden with fresh water bowls always down, treats on hand and a canine menu to ask about; small to medium dogs can also stay overnight in the bedrooms for a supplement.

Brew York's Knaresborough pub, beside the station and a short drop down to the viaduct and the riverside. Asked whether they are dog friendly the pub answers, we love dogs, please bring them, and all three ground-floor rooms are open to them.

Sixteenth-century coaching inn beside Low Bridge on the River Nidd, right by the entrance to Mother Shipton's Cave. Dogs are welcome inside and out, water bowls are provided, and the big riverside beer garden is a natural finish to the Waterside walk; the sign outside reads children, dogs and well-behaved owners welcome.

Cafe, bar and bistro in a 1480s almshouse just off Knaresborough's ancient market square, and winner of Bar of the Year at the Harrogate Hospitality Awards. The team describe themselves as very dog friendly, and the historic beamed rooms are a characterful lunch stop between the castle and the riverside.

Cyclist, walker and dog-friendly coffee shop at Bond End, a few minutes from the riverside and the start of the Beryl Burton Way. All well-behaved dogs are welcome, with an outdoor water station, biscuits offered with your permission and dog ice cream for sale in summer.

Two miles each way of fully surfaced, traffic-free path along the Nidd from High Bridge in Knaresborough out to Bilton Hall Drive, resurfaced in 2013 and effectively flat, which makes it one of the few routes in the district that stays clean and firm right through winter. Start at High Bridge on the Ripon Road below the town, five minutes from Knaresborough station, and at the far end it links straight into Bilton Lane and the Nidderdale Greenway for a longer day. Named after the Yorkshire cycling champion, it is shared with bikes and horses and passes fields of grazing horses and a couple of cattle grids, so keep dogs on the lead and close in; the surface is kind on old joints and takes a buggy or wheelchair without complaint.

Follow the Nidd upstream from Knaresborough's Waterside, beneath the great railway viaduct, into 114 acres of Woodland Trust ancient woodland in a steep-sided gorge. Around 4 to 5 miles out and back on riverside and woodland paths, with a climb out for views over both Knaresborough and Harrogate. Dogs can go off lead with good recall in the woods; free 10-space Trust car park off Bilton Lane.

Inn Collection Group hotel at Bond End, a short stroll from the River Nidd, the viaduct views and Mother Shipton's Cave. Dog-friendly rooms take up to two dogs for fifteen pounds a night, added at booking, and riverside walks start almost from the front door.

England's oldest visitor attraction, open since 1630: the prophetess's cave and the eerie Petrifying Well, reached by a riverside beech avenue with postcard views of Knaresborough viaduct. Dogs on leads are welcome in all areas of the park apart from the adventure playground and the museum and gift shop, and there are dog-friendly ice cream and pupaccino stations en route. Dogs are not admitted during the Christmas event.