Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Lake District

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Leads on the fells

On open access land, which covers most of the high fells, a dog must be on a lead of no more than two metres between 1 March and 31 July, and around livestock at any time of year. The rule does not apply on public rights of way or to assistance dogs. Because Herdwick sheep are out on the open fells year round, the practical position is that most fell walking here is lead walking whatever the date.

Lambing and livestock

Lambing runs broadly from March into May and the National Park issues its lead warnings around the Easter holidays. Sheep worrying is a criminal offence under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 and the owner or person in control of the dog can be prosecuted. Cumbria Constabulary records around fifty dog attacks on livestock a year and its rural crime team asks visitors to use a lead near livestock and keep their distance. A dog does not have to touch a sheep to cause harm.

Where a dog can actually run

The one clearly published off-lead permission in the district is the south meadow at Fell Foot on southern Windermere, when no cattle are grazing. Beyond that, the Forestry England sites at Whinlatter above Keswick and Grizedale between Coniston and Hawkshead are the usual answer for off-lead forest trails, and the shore paths away from grazing land, the Derwentwater shore out of Keswick and the Windermere shore at Millerground, are where most people let a dog off. Those three are practice rather than published policy, so use your judgement.

Swimming in the lakes

There is no seasonal dog ban on any of the lakes, so dogs swim in Windermere, Derwentwater, Ullswater and Coniston Water at any time of year. Blue-green algae blooms do happen in Cumbrian lakes in warm spells, usually late summer, and warning notices go up at the affected shore. Read the board at the launch point rather than assuming the water is fine.

National Trust sites

The Trust rates its places by pawprints. Fell Foot on southern Windermere gets three, with dogs on leads in the main park, the lawns and inside the cafe, and off the lead in the south meadow except when cows are grazing. Aira Force at Ullswater gets three, but dogs are on leads at all times there because of wildlife and surrounding livestock, with water bowls around the car park and tea-room. Tarn Hows near Coniston gets two and has grazing, so check the lead position on arrival. Claife Viewing Station, Windermere West Shore, Sandscale Haws, Hill Top and Arnside and Silverdale all take dogs.

The lake cruises

Windermere Lake Cruises carry dogs free of charge on all cruises and self-drive boats, on a lead and off the seats, and there is no need to add the dog to an online booking. Dogs are allowed on the summer Evening Buffet Cruise, though it runs two and a half hours with no dog rest areas and the live music can be loud. Ullswater Steamers charge GBP 1.50 a dog, bookable online or on the day, short lead throughout, no dogs on the saloon seats or the upper decks and none on special event cruises unless stated. There is a Dog All-Year Season Ticket on 017684 82229 that comes with a rover pass and a bandana.

Getting here

There is no cabin option into the UK, so a dog flies only as manifest cargo in the hold, and assistance dogs are the exception. For a European traveller this is a drive-and-sail destination: Eurotunnel Le Shuttle from Calais with the dog staying in the car, then about five and a half hours north on the M6. From Ireland it is Dublin to Holyhead with Irish Ferries or Stena Line and roughly four hours on to Windermere, or Dublin and Belfast to Liverpool or Cairnryan.

Trains and buses

Oxenholme Lake District on the West Coast Main Line is the gateway, with a branch line to Kendal and Windermere, and Penrith North Lakes serves Ullswater and Keswick. Dogs travel free on British trains under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, up to two per passenger, on a lead or in a carrier and not on a seat. The local buses, including the 555 between Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick and the 508 to Ullswater, are Stagecoach, which publishes no national dog policy, so carriage is at the driver's discretion. Assume yes, do not build a day around it.

Best walks

The lake shores are where the dog gets a real walk. The Derwentwater shore path out of Keswick past Friar's Crag, the Windermere shore at Millerground and Waterhead, the Grasmere and Rydal Water circuit with Loughrigg Terrace above it, and the Ullswater Way along the shore from Watermillock towards Aira Force. From Rothay Manor, Ambleside is ten minutes and Stock Ghyll Force fifteen. From The Ryebeck, Brant Fell is a twenty-minute climb with the whole lake below. From The Eltermere Inn, Elter Water is two minutes and the Cumbria Way runs past the door to Skelwith Force and Colwith Force with the Langdale Pikes three miles up the valley. From the Skiddaw in Keswick, Hope Park and the Latrigg path give a short fell with big views. Fell Foot's south meadow is the clearest off-lead ground in the district, and Whinlatter and Grizedale are the forest answer. The Old Man of Coniston starts a few minutes above the village, and Tarn Hows sits three miles north east of it.

When to go

September and October are the best weeks of the year here. The fells are dry enough, the crowds have gone, the light is long over the water and the lakes are still warm enough for a swim. May and June are the other good window, with the caveat that you are inside the 1 March to 31 July lead period on open access land, so plan the fell days around that rather than being surprised by it. March to May is lambing, which is the time to be most careful around livestock and the time the National Park pushes hardest on leads. July and August bring school holidays, which is when the dog rooms go first and the roads through Ambleside and Bowness are slow. Winter is quiet, cheap and perfectly workable given the shore paths and the forests stay open, and a drying room or boot room is standard in this district for a reason.