Langdale Hideaway, Chapel Stile

Langdale Hideaway sits in Chapel Stile, in the middle of Great Langdale, which is about as good as it gets for a walking holiday with a dog. The Cumbria Way passes through the village, the Langdale Pikes rise out of the valley behind it, and the paths start close enough to the door that the car can stay put for days. It is a self-catering apartment rather than a hotel, so there is no lobby to cross and no dining room to work around.

The pet charge is refreshingly small: fifteen pounds per pet for the week, which barely registers next to the per-dog nightly fees charged elsewhere in the Lakes. Feedback from a stay with a pet is positive, describing the apartment as roomy and comfortable, with a good-sized table and proper seating for the wet afternoon that a Langdale week usually includes. The village shop and the pub are both within walking distance, so a day on the fells does not have to end with a drive.

A few practical points are worth knowing, none of them about dogs. Parking is adequate but fiddly, which is normal for a Langdale village and worth allowing for if you arrive late on a Friday. Guests have also noted small maintenance niggles indoors - a leaking shower screen, a slow electric hob, not many bedroom sockets - so this is a comfortable, functional base rather than a polished one.

Langdale Hideaway suits walkers who want their dog with them and want to start walking from the doorstep rather than driving to a trailhead. For a week of fell days in Great Langdale it is well placed, and about as cheap as taking a dog gets.