Wordsworth House, Keswick

Wordsworth House is a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house in the middle of Keswick, and for a dog owner its best feature is simply where it sits: Fitz Park is a couple of minutes away across the road, with open grass and riverside paths for an early walk before the town wakes up. The centre is a five to ten minute stroll, so you can leave the car parked and do the whole trip on foot, which is rather the point of a Lake District break with a dog.

Dogs are welcome by arrangement rather than by default. The owner's permission is agreed when you book, along with how many pets are coming, and the house rules are clear about where a dog can and cannot go: not in the bedrooms and not on the furniture, never left in the property unsupervised, and any mess cleared up straight away. None of that is unusual in a self-catering house, but it is worth reading before you book if your dog is used to sleeping upstairs beside you.

The house itself is set up for a group. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a downstairs loo mean a large party of friends or an extended family can spread out, and the kitchen-dining area is the room guests single out as the sociable heart of the place - useful when everyone is back from a wet fell walk and drying off. There is room by the door for boots, leads and a damp dog, and Keswick's dog-friendly cafes and pubs are all within the same short walk.

It suits a larger group or family with one or two dogs who want a central, walkable Keswick base with a park on the doorstep, and who are happy to keep the dog downstairs and off the sofa.