Brundholme House, Keswick

Brundholme House is a four-star whole house on Briar Rigg, on the quiet north side of Keswick, and the reason to book it with a dog is the garden: fully enclosed and secure, so you can open the door and leave the lead on the hook. Very few Keswick lets of this standard have that.

Up to two pets are welcome at 25 pounds per pet, per stay. The house is immaculately kept and well equipped, with a conservatory and balcony upstairs looking out over the fells, a kitchen stocked for proper cooking, comfortable beds, private parking and an EV charger available for a fee. Guests travelling with dogs single out the enclosed garden and the standard of the finish above everything else.

The position works hard for an active dog. It is roughly ten minutes on foot through Fitz Park into the centre of Keswick, a few minutes to a pub serving food, and within easy reach of the old Threlkeld railway path, Latrigg and the lower slopes of Skiddaw, so the day can be anything from a flat riverside loop to a full fell round straight from the door.

Two limitations are worth knowing. The house sleeps six but has a single bathroom, which gets tight with a full party and is a non-issue for a couple or a family of four. And the neighbouring property is a large holiday let sleeping eight, so a full house next door can be heard; if your dog reacts to noise through walls, it is worth factoring in. The steam alarm is also sensitive enough to trip after a hot shower.

It suits owners who want a high-spec base with a secure garden and fell walking from the doorstep, ideally in a party small enough that one bathroom is not a problem.