Sherwood & Nottinghamshire North Muskham
The Fern at BrackenXcapes
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated October 2026 · paw rating built from 3 verified guest reviews 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 North Muskham / the Sherwood & Nottinghamshire and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 9.7/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Paw rating is based on 3 reviews - limited sample, treat as directional
- Pet limits: max 3 pets, No breeds listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act or on the banned breeds list - research-verified; the fee isn't published, so confirm the charge when you book
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 3 pet-mention guest reviews 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 31 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 9.7/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: October 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
- Up to 3 pets per booking
- Dogs must be kept on a lead and under control at all times on site
- Owners must clean up after their pets
- Contact the owners in advance if bringing more than two pets
- On-site pet amenities: enclosed garden, enclosed nine-acre exercise field, dog-sitting service
- Restricted breeds: no breeds listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act or on the banned breeds list
Pet-friendly summary
The Fern at BrackenXcapes is a five-star lodge on Bracken Farm at North Muskham, a village beside the Trent a few miles north of Newark-on-Trent, and it solves the one problem that trips up most dog owners booking a lodge: the garden is genuinely enclosed. A six-foot fence runs the whole way round it. It reads as hemmed-in to some guests, but for anyone arriving with a dog that cannot be trusted off the lead it is the best feature on the property.
Beyond the garden there is a field to walk round on the lead, which turns the first and last outing of the day into something you can do in slippers rather than a car. The village is a short walk away, and the riverside paths along the Trent open up longer routes.
What lifts the place above a well-fenced field is the hosting. The owner leaves a welcome hamper, decorates for whatever season you arrive in, and has set up a coded treasure box for children that gets talked about as much as the hot tub, and the hot tub is large and well used. He is described as available for a question and otherwise invisible, which is about the right balance.
The caveats are small. Access involves a level crossing that some guests found fiddly first time, so allow for it if you are arriving late with a tired dog. The garden, while secure, is small, so it is somewhere to contain a dog rather than exercise one, and the field and riverside paths do the real work. The hot tub has occasionally been out of action, with refunds given when it has.
Best suited to a family or a couple with a dog who want a comfortable, well-kept lodge with a genuinely secure garden and open ground to walk on, within easy reach of Newark and Lincoln. It earns a 4.6/5 paw rating.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Six-foot fence right round the garden
- Field to walk round on the lead
- Small garden, for containing not exercising
- Level crossing on the approach
- Riverside Trent paths a short walk away
About this hotel
The Fern at BrackenXcapes is a five-star self-catering lodge on Bracken Farm at North Muskham, a village beside the Trent a few miles north of Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire. It has a fully fenced garden, a large hot tub and a field to walk round. Guests rate it 9.7 out of 10 across 31 reviews.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
The Fern @ Bracken Farm, Vicarage Lane, North Muskham, NG23 6DU
