Peak District Cromford
The Old Hat Shop, Cromford
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated September 2026 · paw rating built from 8 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 Cromford / the Peak District and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 9.5/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Pet fee and any size restrictions aren't published - confirm directly with the property before booking
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 8 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 60 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 9.5/10 - 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-friendly summary
The Old Hat Shop is a small stone house in the middle of Cromford, the Derbyshire village Richard Arkwright built around his mill, and it is set up for dogs with more thought than most self-catering places manage. Guests arriving with dogs find a dog bed, blankets, towels and treats already waiting, which comes up again and again and is clearly not an occasional gesture.
The house itself is a whole property with no shared entrance or corridors, which takes most of the stress out of arriving with a dog. There is a log burner, a small garden and an outhouse that earns its keep with muddy boots and paws. The owner is repeatedly described as quick to answer messages and willing to hand the keys over early when the house is ready, and small extras like milk in the fridge and a coffee machine mean you are not straight back out to the shop.
Cromford earns its place here as much as the house does. The canal towpath, the mill complex and the Black Rocks are all walkable, the local pub does large plates of home cooking and welcomes dogs, and guests report that most places in the village will let a dog in. There is a shop and a cafe within a couple of minutes, and the railway station is close enough to leave the car behind for a day.
A few practical notes. Parking is the one consistent complaint: it is on-street outside the house and spaces go quickly, so unloading with dogs and bags can take patience. The stairs are steep, the kitchen is smaller than the photographs suggest, and there have been occasional reports of tired bedding. Best suited to couples or a small group who want a dog-welcoming base in a walkable village, and it earns a 4.6/5 paw rating.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Dog bed, blankets, towels and treats provided
- Whole house with no shared corridors
- Canal towpath and Black Rocks walks nearby
- Dog-friendly village pub two minutes away
- On-street parking is tight in the village
About this hotel
The Old Hat Shop is a four-star self-catering house on The Hill in the centre of Cromford, the Derbyshire Dales village built around Arkwright's mill. It sleeps a small group across several bedrooms, with a log burner, a small garden, and shops, cafes and pubs within a couple of minutes' walk. It averages 9.5/10 across 60 guest reviews.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
25 The Hill, Cromford, DE4 3RF
