Lake District Windermere
Highbank, Windermere
Independent pet-friendly review by Four Legged Guests · updated August 2026 · paw rating built from 1 verified guest review 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 Windermere / the Lake District and want a pet-friendly anchor for day trips
- The wider guest experience is strong - guests rate this 8.8/10 overall on booking platforms
Worth knowing
- Paw rating sits on a single confirmed pet review - expect movement as more data arrives
- Pet limits: max 1 pet - research-verified; the fee isn't published, so confirm the charge when you book
How this review was built Evidence, sources, refresh cadence
- Evidence: 1 pet-mention guest review 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 21 guest reviews overall across booking platforms, averaging 8.8/10 - the paw rating reflects only the pet-mentioning subset.
- Last refreshed: August 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 policy at a glance
- One well behaved dog is welcome.
Pet-friendly summary
Highbank is a large self-catering house on Craig Walk, a few minutes above the lake at Bowness, and it works best for a family or a group travelling together with a dog in tow. The house is set up for numbers rather than couples, with generous bedrooms and enough bathrooms that two or three households can share without queueing, and it is decorated in a homely rather than boutique style.
One well behaved dog is welcome per booking. Bowls are kept in the cupboard, which is a small thing but a telling one, and the same cupboards turn up a travel cot and a box of toys, so a family arriving with a baby and a dog can travel lighter than usual.
Location is the strongest card. The walk down to Windermere lake takes only a few minutes, and the pubs and restaurants of Bowness are close enough to reach on foot after a day out, with Ambleside and Windermere town both a short drive away for wider walking. That matters with a dog, because it means the last outing of the evening does not need the car.
Be realistic about the fabric of the house. It is a well used holiday let, and several guests mention signs of wear such as loose door handles, a damaged blind and tired paintwork, alongside others who found it spotless. There is also no off-road parking, so unloading a car full of luggage and a dog means finding a space on the street first.
Best suited to larger family groups who want lake access on foot and a dog-friendly base, and who care more about space and position than a pristine finish. Highbank earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.
Highlights from pet-mentioning reviews
What reviewers travelling with dogs consistently noted about staying here.
- Dog bowls provided in the house
- Few minutes walk to Windermere lake
- One well behaved dog per booking
- Spacious house suited to family groups
- No off-road parking for unloading
About this hotel
Highbank is a large self-catering house on Craig Walk in Bowness-on-Windermere, in the heart of the Lake District. It sleeps a sizeable group across several bedrooms with multiple bathrooms, and stands a few minutes on foot above Windermere lake, with the pubs, shops and restaurants of Bowness within easy walking distance.
Hotel facts
Photos
Location
99 Craig Walk, Windermere, LA23 2JS
