Stokers Cottage

Stokers Cottage is a small terraced cottage on Brantfell Road in Bowness-on-Windermere, a couple of minutes above the lakeside and the village. For a dog owner the appeal is the pairing of a genuinely central position with an enclosed rear garden, which is unusual this close to the pier - most central Bowness lets are flat-fronted with nowhere private to step outside.

The cottage takes one small dog, and dogs are kept to the ground floor rather than upstairs. The rear garden is enclosed and has furniture in it, so it works as a real outdoor space rather than a yard you pass through. No pet charge is published on the booking listing, and guest feedback mentions a small, well-behaved dog being taken without an extra fee, but that is worth agreeing with the owner at the booking stage rather than assuming.

Inside it is cosy rather than spacious: warm in winter, fully equipped for self-catering, with good storage and useful eaves space. Guests report the owner as quick to answer and quick to sort things out. Parking is a strong point, with room for a large vehicle, which is not a given in central Bowness.

The cottage does show its age in places, and it is fair to say so: guest feedback has covered broken bathroom fittings, small jobs left undone, and a back porch that has smelt of animal urine. There is also a recurring quirk with the front door, where the paintwork transfers onto anything wet that brushes past it - coats, luggage and dogs included - with a leaking gutter directly above making it worse in rain. Budget a quick wipe-down on wet arrivals.

Stokers Cottage earns a 4.6/5 paw rating. It suits a couple with one small dog who want to walk to the lake, the pier and the pubs, and who value an enclosed garden over interior polish.