Riverside Country House and Cottage

Riverside Country House and Cottage sits in a quiet corner of the north-western Lakes, a few miles out from Cockermouth at Isel, where the house looks onto the river and its gardens run down towards the bank. It is a whole-house rental rather than a hotel, which removes most of the friction of travelling with a dog: no shared corridors, no lobby to cross at six in the morning, and no other guests to work around.

Dogs are welcome, and guests who bring them say the space is the main draw. The grounds are large and tranquil enough that a dog can stretch out properly, and the setting is genuinely rural rather than village-edge. Walks start at the door, including a short riverside stroll to the village church, with the wider North Lakes fells within easy driving distance for longer days out.

The house itself is a historic building that has been carefully renovated - exposed beams, a wood-burning stove, a well-equipped kitchen and comfortable sitting space - which suits the kind of stay where the dog gets a long walk and everyone comes back to dry off by the fire. Guests rate it highly for how thoroughly it is equipped, and the property averages 9.8 out of 10 across its reviews.

Two things are worth knowing before booking. The grounds are open rather than enclosed, with no fenced grassy area, and the river runs close to the house, so a dog with an unreliable recall will need to stay on a lead outside. Guests have also found the heating slow to take the edge off a cold winter weekend. The property lays on a welcome treat for arriving dogs, but numbers and size limits are not published, so confirm those directly when you book. For a rural whole-house base in a quieter part of the Lakes, it earns a 4.7/5 paw rating.