Sun Inn

The Sun Inn is a traditional country pub-with-rooms in Pooley Bridge, right at the northern tip of Ullswater in the Lake District. It is one of the more pet-inclusive pub stays in the area, with a no-extra-dog-charge policy that has been specifically called out by recent guests as unusual for the Lakes.

Dogs are welcomed in the bar, the bedrooms and the beer garden. Pet-travelling guests have reported being warmly received - one solo-with-dog reviewer specifically described feeling safe and at ease - and the inn keeps log fires going in the bar for both visitors and their dogs to settle around. Most visitors travel with one or two dogs, and the pub has comfortably accommodated families with multiple pets.

A few practical caveats worth knowing. The building is an older village pub with thinner walls and corridors than a modern hotel, so dog noise from neighbouring rooms can carry - one guest with no dog reported a noisy night next to a room with multiple barking dogs. If you are a light sleeper or are travelling with a dog that barks at corridor noise, ask the hosts about quieter rooms when booking. Single rooms are also reportedly small with a mattress some guests have flagged as uncomfortable, so the doubles are the safer choice if you have flexibility.

Pooley Bridge itself is a particularly good Ullswater base: lakeshore walks, the steamer pier and several pubs and shops are within a short walk of the front door, and the village sits about ten minutes off the M6 making it a useful Scotland-to-southern-England stopover too. The Sun Inn does not have its own enclosed dog garden, but the wider footpath network around Ullswater starts from the village edge.

Best suited to: couples or small families with one or two dogs who want a working Lakes pub with no pet surcharge and easy lakeshore walks from the front door.