Lavender Cottage, Askrigg

Lavender Cottage is a small, characterful stone cottage in Askrigg, a Wensleydale village with three pubs, a tea room and immediate access to some of the gentler walking in the Yorkshire Dales. Dog owners make that last point repeatedly, usually in contrast to the harder ground over in the Lake District. The village itself is a large part of the draw: all three pubs welcome dogs, so an evening out does not mean leaving one behind at the cottage.

The cottage takes one well-behaved dog. Inside it is clean, modern and genuinely warm, with a good fireplace, fuel left in for guests, and a layout that works for two people. The owner is attentive in a low-key way, sending a detailed information email before arrival and checking in once you are settled.

The access is the thing to understand before booking, and it affects dog owners more than most guests. There is no parking at the door. You park in the village, near the church where spaces can run out, and carry everything down a path across the churchyard and through a narrow gap in a stone wall. There is also no private garden. The grassed strip outside the front door looks like one, but it is a public right of way used regularly by walkers, so a dog cannot simply be let out there and sitting outside with one is awkward. Guests have also noted there is no outside tap or hose for rinsing a muddy dog down, and the doorway is tight for pulling off wet boots. Both of those you feel on a wet Dales week.

Two practical gaps to price in: a deep bath but no shower, and unreliable internet. None of it stops the cottage being a lovely base, and it earns a 4.6/5 paw rating, but it suits a settled, lead-walked dog and owners happy to carry bags a short distance rather than anyone hoping to open a back door and let a dog run.