TOP 10 Pet-friendly holidays

Looking for a break that will feature your creature? We’ve got the perfect option – for dogs, cats and horses

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ROVER THE TOP

Lots of hotels claim to be pet-friendly, but which really push the basket out? Some, such as the William Cecil in Stamford, Lincs, have dog room service. This Hillbrooke Hotel is also brilliant for walkies in the fine Capability Brown-designed parkland of Burghley House across the road. Meanwhile upmarket chain Hallmark Hotels – with 28 properties across the UK featuring manor houses, seaside settings, city centre spots and golf/spa escapes – has launched its Pawfect Package. Canine guests get a welcome pack with a dog towel and a map marking places to stretch their legs. THE DEAL: A Sunday Stopover at the William Cecil is from €57 per room when you spend €85 in the restaurant or bar. A double at Hallmark’s Stourport Manor is from €96, with an extra €17 for the Pawfect Package. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 2 SNUG AS A PUG A holiday cottage is perfect for anyone travelling with a pet. Fido (or Felix) won’t annoy the guests next door and it may even have a garden. Around 30 per cent of holiday cottage customers travel with animals, and that’s reflected in the websites of companies such as Sykes, Brecon Cottages and Mulberry Cottages which all have a ‘pet-friendly’ filter. Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire even have an associate site which awards their properties paw thewoofguide.com, ratings based on pet-friendliness. The winner of the ‘dog friendliest’ award 2017 from Visit England is Suffolk’s picture-postcard Letheringham Water Mill with seven acres, a mill pool, and the host’s own dogs as playmates. THE DEAL: A night self-catering at the Woodshed (sleeps two) is from €111.

mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 DOGGY STYLE 3 Having a pet in tow doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the chance of staying somewhere distinctive. If you like your accommodation stylish, then i-escape (i-escape.com) has 78 pet-friendly locations, mostly rural, and mostly small. Sawdays has a “dog-friendly stays” button linked to 131 properties full of character. Typical amongst them is Shropshire converted granary, Hopton House, which, besides being very handy for the Shropshire hills, has its own

direct access to a secure, dogfriendly garden. THE DEAL: B&B doubles from €130 per night (dogs stay free). mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 DOG’S DINNER 4

Popular holiday spots have a mixed approach to welcoming pets. Beaches, particularly those that attract families with children and want to retain Blue Flag status, ban dogs from Easter until October. Check out thebeachguide.co.uk/

dog-friendly to save yourself a wasted journey. Enlightened regions like Cornwall have a filter on the website that selects all of its listings – attractions, events, accommodation etc – where pets are welcome

(visitcornwall.com). One Cornish establishment, the trendy Lusty Glaze restaurant near Newquay

(lustyglaze.co.uk/restaurant) is so dog-friendly it has introduced a three-course dog menu.

THE DEAL €4 per course on Woof Wednesdays.

mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 5 co.uk) RUFF AND READY Campsites, often the cheapest form of accommodation, may also be the most pet-friendly, particularly if your hound likes a good howl around the campfire. Most sites accept pets. Check campsite guides

(pitchup.com). But if canvas walls are a bit flimsy for your mutt, the new wooden wigwams (wigwamholidays.com) could work. Many have en suite facilities. Or how about a cabin from Forest Holidays in one of nine UK locations.

THE DEAL A cabin sleeping four in Sherwood Forest costs from €655 for three nights, pets are free.

mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 6 POOCH PAMPERING There are a few places in Britain that go above and beyond when it comes to a pup’s care. The Dog Spa in Caerphilly in Wales (thedogspa.

gives great grooming and hydrotherapy as well as lodging. Or check into dog-friendly hotel The Arch London and ask the concierge to book a pampering session at Chelsea’s luxurious Pet

Day Spa. The five-star hotel is a few paws away from Hyde Park – perfect for walkies.

THE DEAL: Doubles at The Arch London are from €395, €17 per night pet fee includes dog bed, bowl and treats. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 7 MUTT DO RESEARCH Styletails’ Luxe Pet Guide (luxepetguide.com) has curated what it judges to be the most dog-friendly UK hotels, pubs and restaurants. Pets Pyjamas is similar, but includes Europe and includes curated selections, such as “property of the month”, best walks in the Cotswolds etc. (petspyjamas.com) mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 8 HOUSESIT AND STAY! If you haven’t got a dog or cat of your own but would like to holiday with a furry friend, several firms offer the chance to house-sit for pet-owners who want someone to care for their animals while they’re away. When it works well, this can be a passport to very inexpensive rent-free holidays for the sitter, as well as a great source of reassurance to the pet owner. With Trusted Housesitters, potential sitters are vetted, profiled and reviewed, and the only outlay is the membership fee of €8 per month that both sitters and owners pay to get full access to each other. Similar agencies include The Home Service

(Housesitters.co.uk), with more limited horizons, which pays a small fee to “guardians” and

charges a day rate to clients. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 9 MOG STANDARD If you’re looking for posh digs for your cat – or dog – there are catteries and kennels that aim high. Some promote themselves as pure luxury, particularly Paw Seasons

(thepawseasons.co.uk from €45 a night), which organises “country house holidays for dogs” at manorial properties in the Cotswolds, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. A little less exclusive is the Essex Pooch Palace ( from €24), just outside Basildon. Cats from Cambridgeshire can stay in one of 13 luxury suites at Westlodge Cattery ( from €19). 10 mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 HORSE SENSE Some households have far larger pets that won’t easily fit in the boot or snuggle down in the spare room. Owning a horse can be a mare when it comes to holidays, but there are options with stables for those who have a horsebox and are willing to travel. Website

weacceptpets.co.uk has a useful search filter for places with stabling, and traditional cottage company historic-uk.

com has 66 properties that accept horses and owners. THE DEAL: A cottage such as Ryall’s Stud (sleeps four) near Sherborne comes with adjacent stabling, and a week’s selfcatering starts at €560. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10