Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Fife, Perthshire and the Borders

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Access rights

Scotland's access rights cover most land and inland water, and dogs come under them as long as they're under proper control. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks you not to take a dog into fields with lambs, calves or other young farm animals, and to keep to a short lead or close at heel near other farm animals. From April to July, when ground-nesting birds are breeding, it asks for the same on moorland, in forests and grassland, and along loch shores and the sea shore. It's a code of responsible behaviour, not a list of closed places, and it matters most on the Perthshire hills and in Borders sheep country in spring.

Beaches

Earlsferry to Elie, Ruby Bay at Elie, Kingsbarns, Tentsmuir and Burntisland are open to dogs all year. West Sands at St Andrews welcomes dogs year-round on most of it, but the exact zones and dates for West Sands and East Sands aren't confirmed, so follow the signs on the day. Silver Sands at Aberdour has seasonal restrictions in parts, with signs to check from May to September. Restrictions are partial and seasonal on a small number of bathing beaches, not a ban along the coast.

Eating with your dog

Expect a table in the bar, not the main restaurant. That means the bar or terrace at Rufflets, Z's Bar & Bistro at Atholl Arms Dunkeld, a dedicated dining area in The Bar at Dunkeld House, The Ewe pub at The Fortingall, the bar at The Black Bull in Lauder, the Cosy Bar and Snug at The Smiddy Haugh Inn and the bar and conservatory at Achray House. Murrayshall goes further with Cairns Restaurant, and The Leddie sets aside a table in its dog-friendly dining areas if you tell reception in advance. Loch Rannoch Hotel is the only one that publishes a breakfast arrangement, in the Wild Brownie Bar on request.

Dog rooms

Most hotels keep dogs to particular rooms, so book the room as a dog room and not just the hotel. Rufflets has four in its external accommodation, The Leddie has five, The Smiddy Haugh Inn takes dogs in three of its four rooms, and Achray House has two garden rooms and a lodge. Dogs go in the General Wade rooms and Fisherman's Cottage Suites at Dunkeld House, Forest View Rooms at Loch Rannoch Hotel, the Fairway Suites at Murrayshall, the Largo Bay Rooms at The Crusoe and standard rooms at The Black Bull.

Fees

Free at The Fortingall, where damage or stains are charged at full replacement cost. GBP 5 a stay at Glenisla Hotel, GBP 10 per dog at The Black Bull and The Smiddy Haugh Inn, and GBP 25 at Garvock House, The Crusoe and The Inn at Kingsbarns. Per dog per night it's GBP 20 at Loch Rannoch Hotel, GBP 25 at Dunkeld House and Rufflets, GBP 30 at SCHLOSS Roxburghe and GBP 35 at the Old Course Hotel, with GBP 50 per pet per night at Fairmont St Andrews. Achray House doesn't publish a charge, and Rusacks adds a minimum GBP 200 if there's any damage.

Size and two dogs

No hotel here publishes a weight limit in kilos. Hotel du Vin St Andrews takes small to medium dogs only, Atholl Arms Dunkeld decides by breed and size, and The Inn at Kingsbarns takes one dog per room and asks owners of large dogs to ring first. Two dogs are confirmed at Dunkeld House, Atholl Arms Dunkeld, Rufflets, Hotel du Vin and The Fortingall. The rest don't publish a number, so ask when you book.

Getting there

The UK has no in-cabin route for pet dogs arriving by air, so most visitors drive or come by train. The stations are Leuchars for St Andrews, Perth, Dunkeld and Birnam, Tweedbank for the Borders and North Berwick for East Lothian. National Rail's terms allow up to two animals at no extra charge, on a lead or in a carrier, off the seats and out of restaurant cars. Check ScotRail's own terms before you travel for anything specific to its trains.

Sights with a dog

Scone Palace allows dogs on leads in the gardens, the Old Kitchen and the Shop, but not in the Maze, the State Rooms or the cafe. Falkland Palace welcomes dogs in the gardens and not inside the palace. Abbotsford takes dogs on a lead through the grounds, the gardens and the cafe, Melrose Abbey takes dogs on a lead outside its roofed areas, and Dryburgh Abbey welcomes dogs in outdoor areas. Jedburgh Abbey and Kelso Abbey don't publish a dog rule, so ask at the gate.

Best walks

On the Fife coast, the Coastal Path runs 117 miles and takes dogs on almost all of it, with Elie to St Monans (4 miles), Anstruther to Crail (4 miles), Crail to Kingsbarns (5 miles) and Aberdour to Burntisland (3 miles) the stretches to pick. Add West Sands at St Andrews, Tentsmuir Forest, Craigtoun Country Park, where dogs go everywhere except inside the cafe, and Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline for off-lead running under control. In Perthshire, the Hermitage at Dunkeld welcomes dogs under control, though not inside Ossian's Hall, on paths that are uneven and rocky with slopes and steps, and the car park costs GBP 5. The banks of the Tay at Dunkeld, Pinecone Point, the Black Wood of Rannoch and Torlum Hill near Comrie are the walks the hotels themselves send guests on, and the Birks of Aberfeldy is a waymarked 3.5 km walk of one to two hours with steep drops, so use a lead. In the Borders, the River Teviot runs through the SCHLOSS Roxburghe estate and the Southern Upland Way passes through Lauder. The Loch Leven Heritage Trail is a 13 mile circuit on the Kinross side.

When to go

There's no closed season on most of this coast. Elie, Kingsbarns, Tentsmuir and Burntisland take dogs all year, parts of Silver Sands at Aberdour carry seasonal restrictions from May to September, and the zones on the St Andrews beaches aren't confirmed, so read the signs. The months that ask most of you are April to July, when ground-nesting birds are breeding and the Access Code wants dogs on a short lead or close at heel on moorland, in forests and along loch and sea shores. Spring also means lambs in the Perthshire hills and the Borders, so stay out of fields with young animals. If East Lothian is the draw, choice stays thin until Greywalls and The Golf Inn reopen in 2027.