Peak District Crich
Shire Cottage, Crich
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated September 2026 · paw rating built from 1 verified guest review mentioning pets
Bring your dog if
- You want a whole-property rental - no shared lobbies or corridors to navigate with your dog
- You're basing yourself in Crich / the Peak District and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 9.3/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Paw rating sits on a single confirmed pet review - expect movement as more data arrives
- Pet limits: max 1 pet - research-verified; the fee isn't published, so confirm the charge when you book
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 1 pet-mention guest review sourced from major booking platforms - 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 14 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 9.3/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: September 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
- One pet per booking
Pet-friendly summary
Shire Cottage is a converted farm building in the Derwent Valley near Crich, tucked away at Whatstandwell with the Cromford Canal towpath running along the back. For a dog it is close to ideal country. The towpath gives a flat, traffic-free walk straight from the door, the woods above the cottage offer a steeper alternative, and heading the other way along the canal brings you out at Cromford Mills.
The most useful thing here for dog owners is a secure dog paddock on site: enclosed space where a dog can run off the lead without a recall risk, which is rare in a rural let and hard to find nearby. The property sits within a working set-up that keeps horses and runs a dog business, so there are people and vehicles coming and going during the day. The flip side is that the whole place is thoroughly used to dogs.
The cottage keeps its farm character, with old hay bales and a feeding tray worked into the interior, and guests rate it highly on comfort, beds and hot water. The host is described as friendly and quick to get the place ready. It is genuinely quiet and remote, with badgers, squirrels and unusual birdlife around the property.
The caveats are real. The cottage adjoins a neighbouring one and the dividing wall is thin; guests have said it can sound as though the people next door are in the same room, which cuts both ways if your dog is vocal. There are a lot of steps and steep ground, difficult for anyone with limited mobility and awkward for an older or short-legged dog. Drainage is to a septic tank, so be careful what goes down it, and the kitchen is functional rather than well stocked.
The published pet terms run to a single line: one dog per booking. No fee, weight limit or breed restriction is given, so agree the money side, and any exception for a second dog, with the owner before booking. Dog-specific feedback is limited so far, but what there is points the same way: Shire Cottage earns a 4.4/5 paw rating, and suits people who want a quiet canal-side cottage with somewhere safe to let the dog off the lead.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Secure dog paddock on the property
- Cromford Canal towpath from the door
- Working yard with horses and dogs
- Thin party wall with neighbouring cottage
- Steep steps and hilly ground throughout
About this hotel
Shire Cottage is a converted farm building near Crich in Derbyshire, set above the Cromford Canal at Whatstandwell in the Derwent Valley. The cottage keeps its agricultural character inside and sits within a working yard that keeps horses. Cromford Mills, canal towpath walks and the surrounding woodland are all reachable on foot from the property.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
Crich, DE4 5HF
