Kitty's Place, Brampton

Kitty's Place is a self-contained apartment in the same building as a village inn at Cumwhitton, in the Eden Valley a few miles south-east of Brampton, and it is one of the easier dog stays in this corner of Cumbria. You get your own entrance and your own space with a well-regarded pub kitchen directly downstairs, so the dog stays with you rather than being left behind while you go out to eat.

Dog owners are close to unanimous about it. Dogs are welcome inside the apartment rather than confined to a boot room or a crate, and reviews from guests travelling with them read almost identically: no fuss, no restrictions on where the dog can settle, and plenty of repeat visits. A pet charge of £10 per stay applies on top of the room rate. Couples arrive with two dogs, solo travellers bring a pair, and several are on their second stay. The host is quick to reply before arrival and will book you a table downstairs, which is worth doing because the restaurant fills up with locals. A simple breakfast of cereal, juice, milk and coffee is left in the cupboards.

The location does most of the work. Cumwhitton sits in quiet farming country with lanes and field walks straight from the door, and it makes a practical stopover for anyone running north towards Newcastle, Carlisle or the Scottish border, with the M6 a short drive west.

Two caveats are worth knowing. There is no enclosed garden or dedicated dog-toilet area, and owners report using the grass verges along the road instead. That is fine for a stopover but less so for a longer stay or a dog that needs space at odd hours. And because the inn below draws a genuine local crowd, the car park can be a source of night-time noise, including other people's dogs left in vehicles. Inside the apartment itself the sound insulation holds up better than guests expect.

Best suited to couples or solo travellers with one or two well-mannered dogs who want a private, comfortable base with food on tap. It earns a 4.8 out of 5 paw rating.