Lake District Penrith
The Kings Arms Temple Sowerby
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated June 2026 · paw rating built from 15 verified guest reviews mentioning pets
Bring your dog if
- You're happy with a standard hotel-room stay where the property explicitly welcomes dogs
- You're basing yourself in Penrith / the Lake District and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - Agoda guests rate this 9.3/10 overall
Worth knowing
- Pet fee and any size restrictions aren't published - confirm directly with the property before booking
- Shared corridors and common areas mean nervous or vocal dogs may find it harder to settle
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 15 pet-mention guest reviews sourced from Agoda - guests who explicitly mentioned travelling with a dog. Each review is screened for pet-relevance, then judged for sentiment to compute the paw rating.
- Not a personal visit. We don't stay at every hotel we cover - we summarise patterns from real guest reviews, paraphrased and never quoted verbatim. Full standard on our editorial policy page.
- Wider context: The property has 260 Agoda guest reviews overall, averaging 9.3/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: June 2026. Policies and pricing drift; we re-check on a rolling basis. Confirm specifics with the property at the moment you book.
- How the paw rating works: Full detail on the methodology page, including the three verification gates and known limitations.
Pet policy at a glance
- A pet fee may apply - Agoda flags this property as charging extra for pets. Contact the hotel for the current amount.
- Service animals are explicitly welcomed.
- Dogs are specifically listed as allowed (check directly if travelling with a non-canine pet).
- Pets may not be left unattended in the room.
Pet-friendly summary
The Kings Arms Temple Sowerby is a 4-star pub-hotel-with-rooms in the village of Temple Sowerby, a few miles east of Penrith and right on the A66 corridor. It has built one of the most consistently positive pet-traveller followings of any country pub in this part of the Lake District, with a high concentration of perfect-score pet-friendly reviews and a setup that goes well beyond simply allowing dogs.
The pet-welcome detail is unusually well thought through. Recent pet-travelling guests have arrived to find dog bed, dog bowls, treats and poo bags provided in the room - the kind of touches that mark a property that actively wants pet bookings rather than tolerates them. The pub itself is a working country hotel with bar, restaurant and lounge, with dogs welcomed throughout the public spaces. The manager, Nicole, is repeatedly mentioned by name across pet-travelling reviews for her warmth and attention. The food in the restaurant is consistently described as a highlight.
The location works in three ways: as a Scotland-to-southern-England A66 stopover (the slip road is about five minutes away), as a quiet Lake-District-edge walking base, and as a starting point for the National Trust's Acorn Bank gardens nearby. The village itself is small, settled and dog-friendly.
One small honest note. The rooms sit above a working pub, but recent pet-travelling guests have specifically called out that bar noise does not carry to the bedrooms, even on a Saturday evening. There is also no in-room TV in some rooms - the pub-hotel format trades that for the cosier lounge area downstairs.
Best suited to: anyone travelling with one or two well-mannered dogs who wants a thoughtful, dog-bed-on-arrival country-pub base near Penrith - particularly handy as a high-quality A66 stopover en route to Scotland or as a quiet Lakes-edge walking base.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Dog bed, bowls, treats and poo bags provided in-room
- Manager Nicole repeatedly praised by name
- Dogs welcome in bar, restaurant and lounge
- Excellent A66 Scotland-to-southern-England stopover
- National Trust Acorn Bank nearby
- Bar noise does not carry to bedrooms
About this hotel
The Kings Arms Temple Sowerby is a 4-star pub-hotel-with-rooms in Temple Sowerby village, a few miles east of Penrith on the A66 corridor. It is a working country pub with a restaurant, lounge, bar and small selection of rooms above, sitting close to the National Trust Acorn Bank gardens and within easy driving distance of Ullswater and the eastern Lake District.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
The Kings Arms, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, CA10 1SB
