Devon Northlew
Thorny Tallet, Northlew
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated October 2026 · paw rating built from 36 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 Northlew / the Devon and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
Worth knowing
- Pet limits: max 2 pets - research-verified; the fee isn't published, so confirm the charge when you book
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 36 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.
- 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 2 pets per booking
- On-site pet amenities: Enclosed garden
- Dogs must be kept under control and exercised off the premises
- Dogs must be kept off the beds and the furniture
- Dogs must never be left in the property unattended
- An enclosed garden is not necessarily escape proof
Pet-friendly summary
Thorny Tallet is the kind of rural Devon cottage dog owners keep going back to. It is a converted hay barn at the end of a farm lane near Northlew, and almost everyone who has stayed with a dog talks about the same thing first: the big enclosed garden, where dogs can wander in and out while you sit with a coffee. Guests also mention being able to use the field behind the garden for a proper off-lead run, which is a real bonus on a longer stay. It earns a 4.4/5 paw rating.
Inside, the ground floor is tiled, so muddy paws are not a worry, and the stair gate has been well received. Dogs are welcome on the understanding that they stay off the beds and furniture and are never left in the cottage alone. The owners live close by, answer messages quickly and are happy to help, though they otherwise leave guests to it.
The setting is the main draw. It is properly remote, with sheep and cows in the fields, owls and bats at dusk and almost no traffic noise. From here it is an easy drive to Dartmoor walks and to dog-friendly beaches around Bude and Widemouth Bay, and the pub in Northlew can be reached on foot across country.
There are a few things to know. The garden fence is around three feet of wire, and owners of large, athletic dogs have found it is not escape-proof; one pair of retrievers cleared it with ease, so supervise bigger dogs outside. The farm track is rutted and easy to doubt in the dark, the upstairs and bathroom can feel cold in winter, and there is no outside tap or mop for washing down muddy dogs, so bring a towel and something for the floors.
For couples or families with one or two small to medium dogs who want space, quiet and a secure garden, Thorny Tallet is hard to beat.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Large enclosed garden dogs can roam
- Private field for off-lead runs
- Tiled ground floor copes with muddy paws
- Low fence not secure for big jumpers
- Remote farmland with Dartmoor walks nearby
- Bring towels for washing muddy dogs
About this hotel
Thorny Tallet is a converted hay barn rented as a whole holiday cottage near the village of Northlew in West Devon, a few miles from Okehampton. It sits at the end of a farm track in open farmland, with log burner, underfloor heating downstairs and on-site parking, and makes a quiet base for Dartmoor and the north Cornwall coast.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
Northlew, EX20 3BT
