Lakeway, Penrith

Lakeway is a smart, whole-house rental in Tirril, a quiet village on the edge of the Eden Valley just outside Penrith and a short hop from the northern shore of Ullswater. It puts you in easy reach of one of the Lake District's best dog-walking lakes while keeping you out of the busier tourist crush, which is exactly the trade-off a lot of dog owners are after.

As an entire house rather than a hotel room, it gives you the whole place to yourselves, with no shared corridors and no reception to negotiate with a dog in tow. Guests describe it as spacious, clean and well equipped, with the kind of everything-you-need set-up that suits a group or family settling in for a long weekend.

One caveat is worth spelling out for anyone with a small or escape-minded dog. There is a gap at the bottom of the garden gate, and the property sits on a main road, so a determined little dog could in theory slip through. Guests travelling with a small breed have flagged this and kept a closer eye on the garden as a result. It is easily managed with a bit of supervision, but do not treat the garden as a fully sealed run, and think twice if your dog is a known bolter.

Beyond the gate, the reviews from dog owners are warm, and the location is the real selling point. Ullswater's lakeside paths, the Pooley Bridge area and the wider Eden Valley all sit within a short drive, giving you everything from flat lakeside strolls to proper fell walks. Penrith itself is close by for supplies, dog-friendly pubs and a wider choice of places to eat.

A note on the rating: it currently rests on a small pool of pet-specific feedback, so read it as an early signal rather than a settled score. The property's booking listing does not publish a formal pet policy, so confirm how many dogs are welcome and whether a charge applies before booking. Best suited to groups and families with one or two dogs who want a private, well-placed base for exploring Ullswater and the northern Lakes.