Hollyside Lodge, Cumwhinton

Hollyside Lodge is a small, owner-run guest lodge on the edge of Cumwhinton, a quiet village a few miles south-east of Carlisle, and it has built a following among dog owners breaking the drive north. Rooms are self-contained, with their own kitchen facilities and independent access, so a dog can be settled without crossing a lobby or sharing a landing, and that practical layout is what people travelling with dogs mention first.

The welcome is the other half of it. Dogs are taken as a matter of course rather than merely tolerated, and parties arriving with two dogs report no fuss at all. The owners are approachable and will steer you toward places nearby that take dogs, which matters here more than it might elsewhere. There is a garden for a stretch of legs on arrival, and the finish throughout is clean and recently done rather than tired.

Location is the reason most people book. Cumwhinton sits just off the main route to Scotland, so the lodge works well as an overnight stop rather than a base, though the surrounding lanes are quiet enough for an evening walk and there is a cafe close enough to reach on foot for coffee and breakfast.

The one caveat worth planning around is that the nearest pub does not allow dogs. Guests have discovered this on arrival more than once, and while it does takeaway food, anyone hoping to eat out with the dog will need to drive. One room's bed has also been described as rickety, and the village is genuinely sleepy, which is a drawback only if you wanted somewhere with evening life.

Hollyside Lodge earns a 4.7/5 paw rating, and it suits dog owners wanting a clean, self-contained overnight stop on the run between Cumbria and Scotland, or a quiet base for the northern Lakes.