The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel

The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel is about as dog-friendly as a Lake District base gets. Tucked at the head of Great Langdale beneath the Langdale Pikes, it has been a refuge for fell-walkers and climbers for generations, and that walking-first character is exactly why it suits dog owners so well. Guests travelling with dogs describe a place where you can come off the fells soaked, with muddy boots and a tired dog in tow, and still feel completely at ease in the old-fashioned, fire-warmed lounge.

The welcome is practical as well as friendly. Dog owners single out small, genuine touches, with sausages added to the cooked breakfast for the dog a particular favourite, and the hotel's set-up for walkers means useful extras like packed lunches, a tumble dryer for wet kit and a relaxed residents' bar where dogs are welcome alongside their owners. Staff are repeatedly praised for being warm and helpful, and several guests say it has become a hotel they return to specifically because their dog is treated as part of the party.

It is an old building in a remote valley, so expectations should be set accordingly: rooms are simple and cosy rather than luxurious, some bathrooms are compact or down the corridor, and the windows are single-glazed, so a room above the busy bar terrace can be noisy on a lively evening. Because it draws a walking and climbing crowd, other guests' dogs are part of the atmosphere too, which most dog owners take as a positive.

For anyone planning serious walking in Langdale with a dog, this is a near-ideal billet: an authentic mountain hotel that genuinely expects you to arrive muddy, four-legged companion and all.