The Manor House Hotel, Ferryhill

The Manor House is a listed sixteenth-century inn on Market Street in the middle of Ferryhill, County Durham, with rooms above a pub that has long taken dogs. One thing is worth knowing before anything else: the building closed in 2023 and reopened in 2026 under new management after a substantial refurbishment, so the property people are booking today is not the one older accounts of it describe.

On dogs, the picture is consistent but not formally set out. Guests who stayed under the previous operator found it straightforwardly dog-friendly, and the reopened pub is still listed as taking dogs in the bar. What does not exist is a written pet policy - nothing on fees, sizes or numbers, and nothing that carries the bar's welcome up to the bedrooms - so confirm directly that your dog can stay in the room before you book.

What it is, is an unpretentious pub with rooms in a working County Durham town: a bar, food, a garden and a handful of bedrooms in a handsome old building on the market square. Warm, chatty hosting has been the constant through every version of the place, and it has generally been priced as a practical stop rather than a destination.

Ferryhill sits between Durham and Darlington with open countryside on its edges, which makes it a workable base for a walk or a break in a longer drive north or south. Durham's riverside paths are a short drive away and give a dog a proper stretch at the end of a day in the car.

The honest caveats are about newness rather than the building. There is very little guest feedback on the refurbished rooms yet, and the pub has been keeping reduced opening days since it reopened, so it is worth checking it is trading on the night you need before setting off. The town itself is plain and the inn makes no claim otherwise.

Best suited to dog owners who want a straightforward, dog-tolerant stop in County Durham on the way somewhere else, and who are happy to ring ahead and pin down the details of a place that has only recently come back.