Pet-Friendly Accommodation Across the Dart Valley

The Dart Valley might be the most dog-friendly corner of Devon. Riverside trails, dog-welcoming pubs in almost every village, an estate at Dartington designed for off-lead exploration, and a clutch of accommodation owners who genuinely like dogs rather than tolerating them. These are the pet-friendly places to stay around Totnes that get the details right, from secure gardens to washable floors to bowls and towels at the door.

Self-catering cottages built around dogs

Champernowne (Dartington estate area)

Champernowne is a cosy traditional two-person cottage in a hamlet a couple of miles from Totnes, designed for a couple and one dog. Open countryside walks from the doorstep, an enclosed garden, hard floors throughout. Around £450 to £700 a week, open year-round, one dog welcome with a small additional charge. The Dartington estate trails are a five-minute drive.

Dart Valley Cottages portfolio

This Dartmouth-based agency has been letting cottages across the Dart Valley for over thirty years and a large slice of their portfolio is dog-friendly. Properties range from one-dog two-person cottages from around £400 a week to four-dog family houses sleeping ten and over. Some include extra-secure gardens for nervous or escapologist dogs, which is the detail worth asking about before you commit. Trading year-round.

Bowhay Shepherd’s Hut

For two people plus a small dog, Bowhay is a luxury shepherd’s hut in the Dart Valley with sweeping views, a wood-burner and walks directly from the gate. Around £140 to £200 a night via Classic Cottages, open most of the year, dogs welcome by arrangement. The host is helpful about local off-lead spots and which pubs welcome dogs inside.

Pubs and inns with rooms

The Steam Packet Inn, Totnes

Six rooms above this riverside pub on St Peter’s Quay, with dogs welcome in the bar, the terrace and (by arrangement) in specific bedrooms. Doubles from around £100 with breakfast, year-round. The riverside walk from the quay through to Dartington is a brilliant morning out with a dog and a flask of coffee.

The Waterman’s Arms, Ashprington

Fifteen rooms across the 17th-century inn and annex, including three larger family rooms, three miles south of Totnes at Bow Bridge. Dog-friendly throughout, with the inn sitting on a stream and a network of footpaths heading off in every direction. Doubles around £110 to £160 with breakfast, year-round, very strong food reputation.

The Bull Inn, Totnes

Two specific rooms at the Bull take dogs by arrangement, with the small additional charge going to an animal welfare charity. The breakfast room and bar both welcome dogs, and a quick walk from the door takes you out to Vire Island on the Dart for a proper morning leg-stretch. Doubles around £130 to £210.

What to ask before you book

Pet-friendly is a wide spectrum. Some properties welcome two large dogs and provide bowls, beds and towels at the door. Others mean one small dog by arrangement, on the lead at all times, and not on the furniture. A quick phone call before you book sorts out the expectations on both sides: how many dogs, what size, whether the garden is properly enclosed, whether there’s a dog-walking field nearby, and whether dogs can be left in the property when you go to dinner. Most local owners will tell you straight.

The Dart Valley itself is exceptional for dog-walking. The Dart Valley Trail follows the river from Totnes towards Dartmouth, the Dartington estate has miles of riverside and woodland paths where dogs can be off-lead, and most South Hams beaches are dog-friendly year-round outside the immediate town beaches at Salcombe and Dartmouth. Throw in a network of dog-welcoming pubs (the Cott Inn at Dartington, the Watermans Arms at Ashprington, the Church House Inn at Harberton) and a long weekend writes itself.

Routine days you can build with a dog

A standard great Dart Valley dog day looks something like this: morning walk along the Dart Valley Trail or around the Dartington estate, mid-morning coffee at the Green Table or White Hart at Dartington (both dog-friendly inside), lunch at the Watermans Arms or the Cott Inn, afternoon at Slapton Sands or Blackpool Sands (both dog-friendly outside the marked summer-restricted zones), and a sundowner at the Steam Packet on the Totnes quay before heading back to the stay. None of those involves more than fifteen minutes’ drive at a stretch, and most can be linked by foot if you’ve based yourself well.

Useful dog-friendly extras around Totnes

Worth knowing: Totnes itself has a clutch of dog-friendly cafes and shops along the high street, the Riverford farm shop at Wash Barn between Buckfastleigh and Staverton welcomes dogs in the outdoor seating area, and the Dartmoor Otter and Butterfly Sanctuary in Buckfastleigh allows dogs on leads through most of the site. The South Devon Railway also takes well-behaved dogs on board for a small charge, which means a heritage steam train can be part of the dog’s holiday too. The combination of properly welcoming venues and proper countryside makes this one of the easiest corners of England to bring a dog on holiday in.