Looking for ideas for holiday cottages

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Dizzydancer

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As we all have dogs I'm sure there are plenty of people who can advise of nice places to stay- the internet is driving me mad!!
We are not too bothered about location we are in staffordshire so pretty central for most places!
There is 2 of us and 1 dog- any recommendations of places to stay welcome?
Thanks
 
Dizzydancer said:
As we all have dogs I'm sure there are plenty of people who can advise of nice places to stay- the internet is driving me mad!!
We are not too bothered about location we are in staffordshire so pretty central for most places!
There is 2 of us and 1 dog- any recommendations of places to stay welcome?
Thanks
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We had a terrific time renting a small cottage in Cornwall twice, once in Mousehole and once in Port Issac. Great walks and (in the north) dog friendly beaches.
 
I have recommendations for Gloucestershire and Norfolk depending on how far you want to travel - about one hour and three hours respectively depending which side of Staffordshire you are. :)
 
http://www.cottages4you.co.uk/cottages/chalk-barn-w41869 - Norfolk

Small but fully enclosed garden, stone floors throughout so easy to clean after mucky dogs, much larger than it appears on the photos, separate lounge/diner and cosy snug with two open fires. Thetford forest on the doorstep (we were there for a race, never been to Norfolk before), miles and miles of stunning walks, near enough to the coast for a day trip.

http://www.forestofdeanlodges.co.uk/forest-of-dean-lodges/danby-lodge/ - Forest of Dean

Again chosen only for proximity to race but turned out to be spot on, no enclosed garden here but situated down a track in the middle of deep forest and straight on to the best walking and cycle routes. Lots of interesting things to do in the Wye Valley. Well appointed cottage, modern and comfortable but still practical for dogs.

Had three dogs in each of these with no bother at all. :) Camping again now for a few months but will be returning to both of these this winter with no hesitation.
 
Northumbria coast and country cottages have lots of nice houses and cottages in Northumberland a lot of them are dog friendly although some do charge a little extra if you take a dog .
 
We spent in week in Norfolk in May after booking a cottage through Sowerbys Holiday cottages.

It's the first time I've been to Norfolk (apart from a weekend with horse last year) as we usually visit Devon, Cornwall, Somerset etc. I was impressed by how dog friendly everywhere and everyone is. All the beaches we visited allowed dogs which is very different to Cornwall etc. Amazing beaches in Norfolk, you can walk for hours.
 
If you fancy the south west, we stay at 'Bakers Mill Holiday' cottages, nr Crewkerne on the dorset/somerset borders.

They are on a working farm with lots of footpaths, and each cottage has its own little back garden too. The area is pretty dog friendly and each cottage has a list of dog friendly pubs and beaches.
 
I'm a fan of North Devon. Woolacombe beach is great, massive and dogs are allowed on most of it. Near by Saunton sands also big and dogs allowed. We always camp around this area so can't recommend a cottage, but there are loads of places with static caravans to hire around it you don't mind them.

We went to Hartland over Easter which is a bit further down close to the North Cornish border. There are several small beaches in the area that allow dogs and it's a lovely area for walking. Lots of circular routes that join up with the coast path, really quiet country lanes (perhaps not in the height of summer!) and very pretty. Quite a few dog friendly gardens in the area too. Docton Mill gardens have great crab sandwiches and cream tea and you will instantly be befriended by the resident choc lab! Its on route of a good circular walk. We stayed at a small cottage which gave us a delicious welcome cream tea, box of chocs and a bottle of wine. Very peaceful place, open patio, and grounds to walk around, but no enclosed garden should you need one. http://www.yaphamcottages.co.uk/

Exmoor is another great place for walking, Exford good and central and varied walks on your doorstep and couple of pubs do food. Haven't yet stayed there with the dog, but there's lots of cottages in the area so shouldn't be hard to find one. It not far to the coast from here either so it gives you a few options.

And of course there's also Dartmoor, lots of walking again, moors, woodland, rivers, reservoirs and not too far for a day trip to the south or north coast.

Brecon Beacons has much of the same as above, again a lovely spot. Talybont-on-Usk and surrounding villages are a good base.

Last year we stayed at Beach cottage on Restronguet Creek in Cornwall. Fab location on the water. Several other cottages with the same company close by. http://www.creeksidecottages.co.uk/accommodation/dog-friendly
Not so many dog friendly beaches or gardens as North Devon, but still good walking, boating, lovely scenery and relaxing riverside pubs. You can get a 'mussel card' in near by Falmouth that allows you to travel around on the water ferries to various places, dogs go free and some of the skippers even have a supply of dog biscuits for their canine customers!

The Yorkshire Dales are beautiful. We stayed in a dog friendly cottage called Crow Hall in Reeth a few years back before we had a dog. Good location and lots of walks from the doorstep and several dog friendly local pubs. I think it was through a company called Cathole cottages.

And then there's the Lake District, Pembrokeshire coast and the North Norfolk coast, ... we are really lucky to have so many wonderful places to visit!
 
We stayed at bedandbasket.co.uk for a week in May, and would definitely recommend it. They have a great website so all the info you need is on there
 
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