Other UK Gainsborough
Forge Cottage, Gainsborough
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated August 2026 · paw rating built from 3 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 Gainsborough / the Other UK and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 9.8/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Paw rating is based on 3 reviews - limited sample, treat as directional
- 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: 3 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 11 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 9.8/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: August 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
Pet-friendly summary
Forge Cottage is a converted forge in Hemswell, a small Lincolnshire village a few miles east of Gainsborough, and it is the kind of quiet, owner-run place that suits a dog well. The gardens are enclosed, which is the detail dog owners mention first: a dog can be let out to run around without anyone having to think about it. Guests travelling with dogs have been consistently happy here, and the cottage earns a 4.7/5 paw rating.
Up to two dogs are welcome. The owners live in the cottage across the drive and keep dogs of their own, so a dog arriving is entirely normal rather than something to be negotiated. They are on hand if you need them, but the outdoor space that comes with the cottage is yours, with room to sit out or use the barbecue.
Inside, the conversion is comfortable and well equipped, and guests describe it as spotlessly clean and easy to keep warm. Hemswell sits below the Lincoln Cliff with lanes and field paths leading straight out of the village, so the everyday walks are on the doorstep, and the village green with its unusually tall maypole is directly across the road.
One thing to weigh. The WiFi signal is patchy in places, which matters if you were planning to work while the dog sleeps off a long walk.
Best suited to a couple or a small family with one or two dogs who want somewhere calm and rural that is genuinely set up for dogs rather than merely tolerant of them.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Enclosed gardens for safe off-lead time
- Up to two dogs welcome
- Owners keep dogs on site themselves
- Village and field walks from the door
- Very quiet, but patchy WiFi
About this hotel
Forge Cottage is a four-star self-catering conversion of an old forge in Hemswell, a quiet village a few miles east of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. It sleeps a small family, has its own enclosed garden and private outdoor seating, and stands across the road from the village green and its landmark maypole.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
Gainsborough, DN21 5UQ