Best places to holiday with your dog in the UK
According to some sources, the ‘Staycation Boom’ in Britain has well and truly bust, but following the recent chaos at airports and growing cost of living crisis, it looks as though many of us are going to be holidaying in the UK for some time to come! 27% of UK adults now own a dog - and many of us have started to take our pets along with us too – but where are the best places to take them?
According to Devon Live, Brits are now suffering from ‘Staycation Fatigue’ and hire rates are dropping off – but for those of us who have no choice but to holiday at home, maybe all we need is a change of scene. Instead of going back to the same familiar places every year perhaps we just need to visit a new area – but how do we know if they are dog-friendly too? Luckily, pet food company Pooch and Mutt have conducted some research to find the best dog-friendly destinations and facilities across the UK, by examining which areas have the highest number of parks, beaches, hotels, restaurants, cafes and unique dog-friendly activities within a 25 mile radius of a city.
The survey examined all of the UK's 76 cities, using data from dog travel website, bringfido.co.uk. So this means the result are more focused on city breaks than country retreats but they still give you a fairly good breakdown of what is available in certain counties or regions.
Beach photo by Ben Mack on Unsplash
Most dog-friendly place to stay in the UK
With this in mind, the study revealed that the West Midlands is the most dog-friendly region in the UK, with 368 dog-friendly hotels, parks and other fun activities for your dog. The South West of England (including popular tourist destinations such as Devon and Cornwall) came a close second with a total of 351 dog-friendly places, while Scotland (who also came top in the best place to work with your dog) came third.
When it comes to dog-friendly activities, London came out on top with a wide variety of things to do with your dog. Closely followed by St Albans and Birmingham, all of which have terrific faculties for anyone looking for a decent day out with their dog.
Park photo by Stephen Embry on Unsplash
Best parks and beaches for dogs in the UK
One of the best things about holidaying with your pet is being able to get out and explore together so Pooch and Mutt made a top ten list of the best spots to do this in. Unsurprisingly, the South West came out on top here, closely followed by London, St Albans and 3 Scottish cities:
- Truro
- Plymouth
- City of London
- St Albans
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh
- Dunfermline
- Chester
- Liverpool
- York
Cafe photo by Zen Chung on Unsplash
Best restaurants and cafes for dogs in the UK
If you’re holidaying with your pooch you can’t exactly leave them behind if you’re heading out to dinner so it’s important to make sure you’ve found some dog-friendly places to eat during your stay as well. As you might expect, London came top of this list, with cities in Devon and Cornwall nowhere to be seen...
- City of London
- St Albans
- Edinburgh
- Dunfermline
- Salford
- Manchester
- Inverness
- Bath
- Durham
- Birmingham
Hotel photo by Undine Tackmann on Unsplash
Best places to stay in a hotel with your dog in the UK
Of course not all of us staycation with our pooch in a hotel. Some us prefer to go camping or glamping, stay in a caravan, a holiday cottage or bed and breakfast accommodation, so this list only gives an indication of which areas might be good to stay in.
Location can be critical and places close to a beach, forest or parkland are very popular. We always recommend checking out the reviews before booking to make sure a destination is as dog-friendly as it claims to be. Tripadvisor is also a great place to start when looking for things to see and do in the local area with your dog.
Here's the Pooch and Mutt top ten for dog-friendly hotels:
- City of London
- St Albans
- Birmingham
- Lichfield
- Bradford
- Coventry
- Edinburgh
- Leeds
- Dunfermline
- Wakefied
Wherever you decide to stay with your dog, and whatever you decide to do together his summer, we hope you have a wonderful time. Next week we’ll be looking at travelling abroad with your dog and the things you need to take into consideration and do to prepare for your trip. In the meantime, we hope you’re getting some sort of break and enjoying some quality time with your pets.
Main photo by Jacub Gomez on Unsplash