Dog-friendly Malham

A big stone inn on Cove Road at the centre of Malham, a few minutes' walk from the path up to the Cove itself. Dogs are welcome to settle in with a choice of treats behind the bar, and the walkers' bar takes muddy boots without comment. One of the busiest stops in the southern Dales on a fine weekend.

Handsome Thwaites coaching inn on Malham's village green, crowned Dog Friendly Accommodation of the Year by the Yorkshire Post. Dogs are welcome in the bar and bedrooms day and night, with doggy mats, beds, water bowls and homemade treats laid on; the restaurant itself is dog-free, so ask for a bar table. Perfectly placed for the Malham Cove circuit from the door.

The classic Dales circuit: roughly five miles from Malham village via the wooded ravine to Janet's Foss waterfall, into the towering gorge of Gordale Scar, then over limestone pasture to the 80-metre curved cliff of Malham Cove. Dogs may go off lead in places but sheep graze almost the whole route, so close control or a lead is essential, and there are rocky steps and clints on the cove top. Start from the National Park car park; the village pubs welcome muddy paws afterwards.

A four-and-a-half-mile circuit of England's highest marl lake, two hours on estate tracks, a stretch of quiet moorland road and grass paths, with almost no climbing at 375 metres above the sea. Park at the National Trust car park at Water Sinks on the Malham to Arncliffe road; Malham village and its toilets and tea rooms are three miles south. The Trust asks for dogs on leads and bars them entirely from the boardwalk through the National Nature Reserve at the east end, so plan to walk the road section instead; sheep and cattle graze the upland farm land, and the tarn shore gives easy shallow access for a drink.

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.