Dog-friendly Masham

A traditional local on the north side of Masham's market square with a huge beer garden looking over the River Ure and lower Wensleydale. Dogs are allowed in any part of the pub, which makes it the easiest choice in town if you are eating with one. Two letting rooms, darts and a good beer list.

Theakston's flagship country inn in brewery town Masham, pouring the full range of award-winning cask ales. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the public bar and beer garden but not the dining room, and a limited number of dog-friendly bedrooms can be pre-booked at fifteen pounds per dog. Handy for both brewery visitor centres.

Four and a quarter miles in a shade over two hours on the flat, east from the market place to the Ure, then west along the River Burn past Swinton Park and back on the Ripon Rowel; riverside and field paths that get muddy but never steep. Start on Masham's huge market square, where parking is free and both breweries and their tap rooms are a few yards away; the 159 bus runs from Ripon. A sound low-level choice for a hot day or an old dog with two rivers for swimming and plenty of shade, but the meadows are grazed by sheep and cattle, there are stiles on the Burn section, and Swinton Park's parkland holds free-roaming fallow deer that will draw any dog.

Castle hotel on the 20,000-acre Swinton Estate outside Masham, with parkland, lakes and falconry. Most bedrooms are dog friendly (around twenty-five pounds per dog per night) and dogs are welcome in the Terrace Bar, Billiard Room, Morning Room, Lower Hall and estate shop, though not the restaurant. Four-legged guests get a bed, chew, bowls and eco poo bags.

A Georgian coaching inn overlooking Masham's enormous market square, an affordable base between the two breweries and the Dales proper. Twelve of the twenty-seven bedrooms take dogs, and they must be requested when you book rather than turned up with. Handy for the Ure riverside walk and the Black Sheep and Theakston tours.

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 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.