Lake District Keswick
Plum Cottage, Keswick
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated July 2026 · paw rating built from 33 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 Keswick / the Lake District and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 8.9/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Pet fee and any size restrictions aren't published - confirm directly with the property before booking
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 33 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 156 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 8.9/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: July 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-friendly summary
Plum Cottage is one of the most genuinely dog-friendly places to stay in Keswick, and it's earned that reputation over a large number of happy visits with dogs. The standout feature, mentioned again and again by dog owners, is the fully enclosed, secure garden - a proper fenced space where you can let your dog out off-lead without a second thought, which is exactly what you want as a base for a Lakes holiday. There's even an outside tap and hosepipe for rinsing muddy paws after a day on the fells.
The location is the other big draw. You're just a few minutes' walk from the centre of Keswick and around 20 minutes from Derwentwater, with off-road parking on site - so you can leave the car and head straight out on foot with the dog. Guests consistently describe a clean, comfortable, well-equipped cottage with lovely views of Skiddaw, freshly redecorated, and welcoming, communicative hosts. Several have stayed more than once and happily returned.
It's well suited to more than one dog, too - some guests have brought two or three small dogs and found it worked well, thanks to that secure garden and the space.
The main thing to keep in mind is size: it's a cosy, compact cottage, so it's perfect for a couple with dogs or a solo traveller, but you wouldn't choose it for room to spread out. A handful of guests have noted it's on the small side, though almost all felt the garden, location and dog-friendliness more than made up for it.
For dog owners who prioritise a safe, enclosed garden and an easy walk into town, Plum Cottage is about as good a Keswick base as you'll find. Best suited to couples or small households with one or more dogs who want a secure garden, central location and parking, and don't need a large interior.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Fully enclosed, secure dog garden
- Outside tap and hosepipe for muddy paws
- Few minutes' walk into Keswick
- Off-road parking on site
- Compact - best for a couple and dogs
About this hotel
Plum Cottage is a much-loved dog-friendly cottage in Keswick, Cumbria, with a fully enclosed, secure garden, an outside tap for muddy paws, and off-road parking. It's a few minutes' walk from town with lovely Skiddaw views - compact but ideal for couples and small households travelling with dogs.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
High Hill Beechwood, Keswick, CA12 5PB
