Weekend breaks with your dog
If a weekend break in a cosy pub just isn’t the same without your dog, then an online collection of boutique inn called Inn Places can help. Here, they pick out five of their favourite dog-friendly pubs across the UK .
The Inn at Cranbourne, Dorset
Voted Dorset Inn of the Year 2013, The Inn at Cranbourne is run by Australian Jane Gould, aided and abetted by her Jack Russell, Mike. The Inn, says Inn Places, welcomes visiting dogs as long as they are ‘well spoken’. With dog treats on the bar, dog-friendly bedrooms, and an award-wining ’30 Mile Menu’ using ingredients sourced within 30 miles of the inn, not to mention lots of beautiful walks nearby, this is the perfect weekend in the country. £85-£140 per night.The Rose & Crown, Co. Durham
The Rose & Crown, owned by the Robinson family, is an 18th-century inn in the village of Romaldkirk, near the market town of Barnard Castle. Set amid rolling pastures and open moorland, the inn is certainly well located for walkies. And while only clean dogs are allowed inside, there are facilities for washing and drying off muddy pets. Food served in the restaurant is all locally sourced, as are the doggy treats on the bar. £155-£160 per night.The Cholmondeley Arms, Cheshire
This inn is actually a converted village schoolhouse on the Cholmondeley Estate, its six comfortable guestrooms housed in the Headmasters House. But that’s not the only unusual thing about The Cholmondeley Arms. Bought and restored by Tim Bird and Mary Mclaughlin in 2011, the inn stocks nearly 200 different gins and holds regular tastings. Dogs are well catered for, too: not only are three of the guestrooms dog friendly, with dog beds supplied if required, there are doggy treats on the bar and to quench post-walkies thirst, there is a special dog ‘beer’. £85-£100 per night.
The Bull & Swan, Lincolnshire
This ancient inn in Stamford was once a popular staging post for coaches on the Great North Road. Today it has seven guestrooms, each named after a member of a 17th-century drinking club which met at nearby Burghley House. Your dog will be thoroughly spoilt here: not only are there lovely walks by Rutland Water, Fido gets his very own room service menu featuring steak, chicken and other pooch-pampering morsels. £120-£160 per night.
While the Bull & Swan names its rooms after 17th-century wild boys, this charming inn in Armscote – run by brother and sister Adrian Slater and Tania Fossey whose family own the Baylis & Harding beauty brand – has called its four guestrooms after species of ducks (the room pictured above is Indian Runner). There’s lots to explore in the area, or take the Fuzzy Duck Waddle, a countryside ramble of just under three hours devised by the inn. To make your four-legged friend feel at home there is a doggy welcome pack and homemade biscuits behind the bar. £110-£160 per night.
BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN