10 Dog Friendly Pubs in the Lake District, Checked

Wasdale Head Inn

Right at the head of Wastwater, at the foot of Scafell Pike, and it calls itself the birthplace of British climbing. There are two places to eat, Ritson's Bar and Abraham's Restaurant. The tourist board's directory says dogs are welcome in the bar, with biscuits and towels for wet paws, which is the correct answer to a valley that is mostly water and mud.

It's remote, so this is a pub you plan a day around. Do the walk first, come back filthy, sit at the bar. I wouldn't turn up expecting to sit in the restaurant with a dog. The pub's own site doesn't mention dogs at all, so ring if you want to stay overnight with one.

Good for

Big-fell days, muddy dogs, proper walkers' atmosphere

Dogs

Welcome in the bar, biscuits and towels (tourist board directory)

Postcode

CA20 1EX

Check first

Dog policy for rooms and the restaurant, and parking, which the pub's own site doesn't cover

Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel

The pub's own FAQ is refreshingly clear. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the hotel and in the Climbers Bar, but not in the hotel dining room, and there is an extra charge for dogs staying in rooms. That's exactly the sort of sentence I wish every pub wrote.

The walk is right there. The National Trust car park beside the hotel is the start of the Mickleden Valley trail, which the Trust lists as 3.8 miles and about two hours, flat along the valley floor. It's an easy one for a dog that hates hills, and it points straight at the Langdale Pikes, which the hotel's site name-checks along with Jack's Rake and Bowfell.

The car park is pay and display, free for National Trust members. Hotel residents get a separate car park.

Good for

Flat valley walk first, then a pint in the Climbers Bar

Dogs

Hotel and Climbers Bar yes, dining room no, extra charge in bedrooms

Postcode

LA22 9JY

Parking

National Trust pay and display beside the hotel (members free)

Check first

The room dog charge, and how packed the bar is on a wet weekend

Woolpack Inn

This one gets a special mention because the pub has properly thought about dogs. Its own website lists dog stays at 5 pounds a dog a night, a Dog B&B at 10 pounds with dog food and kitchen treats, and a Dog Dinner B&B at 15 pounds. Those are the prices at the time of writing, so check the page. It also says it arranges private dining rooms so you can eat with your dog, which answers the dining room question before you've asked it.

The pub sits by Hardknott Pass, and Scafell, Wastwater and the Ravenglass railway are all nearby. Hardknott Roman Fort, up the pass, is free to visit according to English Heritage, but they're blunt that the road is narrow and steep and can be hazardous in bad weather. Don't do it in fog with a car full of children.

Good for

Dogs who get their own menu, long weekends, Eskdale and Hardknott

Dogs

Welcome, with dog packages priced on the pub's own site

Postcode

CA19 1TH

Check first

Dog package prices, and the state of Hardknott Pass before you drive it

The Sun Inn

The most relaxed dog policy on this list, and it's on the pub's own site. Their words are that pets go everywhere with them, which is why they welcome them into the whole pub. Not the bar, the whole pub. Food is listed as served noon to 8pm every day. There's a car park, a beer garden, accessible access and parking, baby changing and a children's play area, so it also works if your group contains a toddler as well as a Labrador.

Pooley Bridge sits at the foot of Ullswater. It's a village rather than a fell, so it suits the days when the dog is old, or you are.

Good for

Mixed groups of dogs, grown-ups and small people

Dogs

Welcome throughout the pub (pub's own site)

Postcode

CA10 2NN

Toilets/buggies

Baby changing and accessible access listed on the pub's site

Check first

Food times outside summer

Pooley Bridge Inn

Yes, two pubs in one village. Hear me out. The Pooley Bridge Inn on Finkle Street says on its own site that dogs are welcome in its spacious traditional bar. It does roast dinners with vegan and gluten free choices, and has twelve en suite rooms, some with balconies and some family rooms with adjoining doors.

So if the Sun is full, you try here. That's the joy of a small village with two decent pubs. Table bookings are by phone on 017684 86215.

Good for

Roast dinners after Ullswater, a fallback if the Sun is busy

Dogs

Welcome in the bar (pub's own site)

Postcode

CA10 2NN

Check first

If you can eat in the bar with the dog or only drink there

The Mortal Man

Up the Troutbeck valley from Windermere, with the sort of view most pubs would sell a kidney for. The tourist board's directory says dogs are welcome in the bar and there's a large beer garden with valley views and plenty of tables. The pub's own site talks about traditional home cooked food and a dining room overlooking the valley, but says nothing about dogs, so treat the dining room as off limits unless they say otherwise.

It's a pub for a slow drink in the garden with the dog under the table on a dry afternoon. In the rain you'll be in the bar with several other wet dogs, which is honestly no bad thing.

Good for

Views, a slow pint outside, quiet days

Dogs

Welcome in the bar and beer garden (tourist board directory)

Postcode

LA23 1PL

Check first

Dog policy for the dining room and bedrooms

The Britannia Inn

Here's one where I can only tell you half the story, so I will. The Britannia's own rooms page says dogs are welcome to stay in the rooms at no extra charge, with one rule: not on the bed. What the site doesn't say is whether dogs can go in the bar, so I'm not going to promise that. The pub asks you to phone rather than email, on 015394 37210.

What I can say from the site is that it's open seven days, 11am to 11pm, with lunch from 12 to 2, soup and sandwiches from 2 to 4 and dinner from 5.30 to 8.30, an open fire and garden seating. It's in Elterwater, in the Langdale valley, so you're a short drive from the Old Dungeon Ghyll walks above. Ring, ask about the bar, and go.

Good for

Staying with a dog in Langdale, a fire in the evening

Dogs

Welcome in rooms free of charge, not on beds (pub's own site). Bar policy not stated

Postcode

LA22 9HP

Check first

Whether dogs are allowed in the bar or restaurant. Phone 015394 37210

The Old Crown

England's first co-operatively owned pub, run by around 150 members from the local and wider community, in a village on the northern edge of the National Park. It works closely with the Hesket Newmarket brewery nearby, which supplies most of the ales. The tourist board's directory says dogs are welcome in the bar. The pub's own site doesn't cover dogs, so this one's a ring-ahead.

Food is served Tuesday to Sunday evenings and at weekend lunchtimes, and you're asked to book by phone on 016974 78288. That matters. Don't turn up on a Monday expecting a roast. For a Cumbrian like me this is a proper northern fells pub, well away from the tour buses, and the more I read about it the more I want to book a table.

Good for

Quiet northern Lakes, real ale, a pub with a story

Dogs

Welcome in the bar (tourist board directory)

Postcode

CA7 8JG

Check first

Book food by phone, and confirm dog policy

The Dog & Gun

The name helps. The chain's own page says it's dog friendly, open 11am to 11pm daily with food from 11 to 9, and only takes walk-ins, no bookings. It's on Lake Road in Keswick, and Keswick's own tourism site describes the way to Friar's Crag as heading along Lake Road from Market Square, so you can walk the dog to the lake and back to the pub without touching the car. Friar's Crag is free to visit.

The pub says it's famous for its homemade Hungarian goulash, and it doesn't serve fried food, which surprised me. No bookings means it fills up on rainy Saturdays, so go early or go on a weekday.

Good for

A town-centre pint after Friar's Crag or Derwentwater

Dogs

Dog friendly (pub's own page)

Postcode

CA12 5BT

Check first

No bookings, so queue on wet weekends. Ask which areas take dogs at busy times

The Newfield Inn

In the Duddon Valley, well off the main Lakes circuit, and the pub's own site says it's surrounded by the fells: Dow Crag, Caw, Harter Fell and Wallabarrow Crag. The tourist board's directory says dogs are welcome with very few restrictions. It serves real ale and pub food, and the pub's site lists vegetarian and vegan menus and a takeaway.

The pub's site gives food as 9am to 9pm and the tourist board says noon to 9pm, so check before you count on a late breakfast. It's in a quiet valley on winding roads, so this is a pub to arrive at rather than pass.

Good for

Quiet Duddon Valley days, tired dogs, fell views from the garden

Dogs

Welcome with very few restrictions (tourist board directory)

Postcode

LA20 6ED

Check first

Food times, and what the restrictions are. Phone 01229 716208