North Yorkshire is a huge county, yet the hot tub stays that take dogs and fence their gardens turn out to be small and close together rather than spread across the moors and the coast. Every one of the seven below sleeps four or fewer. A Grade II listed townhouse hides a walled garden in Richmond, a barn on one floor looks down Wensleydale from Constable Burton, and a shepherd's hut on the Tees south of Darlington comes with a spare field for the dogs to run in.
What they share is the part a dog cares about. Each listing went through the same three checks on the Wildpack map: an enclosed garden described in writing, a hot tub confirmed on the property, and a fixed number of dogs allowed. That number is one at The Secret Garden and three at Wooden Hare, with two everywhere else. Five carry a five star grading, three heat their tubs with wood instead of a switch, and six of the seven lie within a short drive of Richmond, which makes this a short list for a couple or a family of four who want the Dales on one side and the vale on the other.
Maran, Sinderby
Maran is a converted barn on the green at Sinderby, in the low country between the Dales and the Moors with each about 12 miles away. It sleeps four in two king bedrooms, both with their own en suite and a Juliet balcony, and takes two dogs. The floors are stone throughout with heating underneath, so a soaked dog does no damage and dries quickly. Downstairs is a single high ceilinged room with a long wooden table and benches, and a separate lounge holds a wood burner and a piano. The hot tub stands on an enclosed patio with a barbecue that can be provided on request.
The owners farm the land around it, and a marked route leaves the door across their fields, which is the reason to pick Maran over somewhere with a bigger garden. There is also a hen pen guests may collect eggs from, so a dog with ideas about poultry needs a lead near it. Maran is one of four barns sharing a yard, so the setting is neighbourly rather than secluded, and parking is for a single car with more on the road. The nearest walk we list, the River Skell Riverside Walk, is 6.9 miles off, and Thirsk, with its cobbled square and the practice James Herriot wrote about, is the town to drive to.
- Sleeps: 4 across 2 en suite bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, private, on the patio
- Enclosed garden: Yes, an enclosed patio with furniture
- Nearest walk: River Skell Riverside Walk, 6.9 miles
- Best for: Two couples who like warm floors and a farm walk before breakfast
The Secret Garden - Richmond
The Secret Garden is the only town house on this list: a Grade II listed building in Richmond with a private walled garden behind the kitchen, invisible from the lane, and a hot tub inside it. Two bedrooms, both super kings that can be split into singles, sleep four, and the family bathroom upstairs keeps an original Victorian slipper bath. The lounge has two sofas and a wood burner, and a cloakroom and WC on the ground floor mean wet coats and a wet dog never have to go upstairs.
The allowance is the drawback. One dog is permitted, no more, so this suits a household with a single animal and nobody else bringing theirs. In return the walking starts almost at the gate: the Richmond Castle and the River Swale Walk is 0.3 miles away, under the Norman keep and along the bank where the Swale drops over broad falls. The market place, said to be the largest cobbled one in the country, is a short stroll, and the Georgian Theatre beside it is the oldest working theatre in Britain kept in its original form. Open dale begins about twenty minutes on foot from the square.
- Sleeps: 4 across 2 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 1
- Hot tub: Yes, in the walled garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, private and walled
- Nearest walk: Richmond Castle and the River Swale Walk, 0.3 miles
- Best for: A family with one dog who would rather walk to dinner than drive
Mouse Manor, Constable Burton
Mouse Manor is a five star barn in the fields beyond the estate houses at Constable Burton, where the road enters Wensleydale, and everything in it is on one level. That single floor is the main argument for it with an older dog. Floor to ceiling glass runs down the long side, the lounge at the end has a wood burner, and the dining table lifts off to reveal a full size pool table. The super king has a bathroom with an elliptical bath and an infrared sauna, the twin has its own shower room, and stone floors cover the ground in between. The enclosed terrace holds the hot tub, facing open country with nothing overlooking it.
Two dogs come as standard and a third is allowed only if the owners agree when you book, so ask before assuming. The sauna belongs to the main bedroom's bathroom, which means whoever takes the twin has to knock. A footpath starts at the property, though the nearest route we have mapped, the Middleham Castle and River Cover Loop, is 2.8 miles away. Constable Burton Hall opens its terraced garden in spring, and Coverdale, a one road valley with moor at its head, turns south a little further west.
- Sleeps: 4 across 2 bedrooms, all on one floor
- Dogs welcome: 2, or 3 by arrangement
- Hot tub: Yes, on the terrace, with a sauna indoors
- Enclosed garden: Yes, with seating
- Nearest walk: Middleham Castle and River Cover Loop, 2.8 miles
- Best for: An older dog and owners who want no stairs and a view up the dale
The Gardeners Cottage - Richmond, Barton
Despite the name, The Gardeners Cottage stands on an estate at Barton, in farmland between Richmond and Darlington, with woodland behind and a lake at the foot of the trees. It sleeps four in two super king bedrooms, one of which unzips into twins and has a day bed for a fifth, and it takes two dogs. You come in through a boot room, which on a working farm is the right way round, and the house also has a drying room, a utility and a cloakroom. The kitchen was built by hand with a farmhouse table, bench seats and a log burner, while the sitting room across the hall keeps an open fire. Within the garden walls are seats, a charcoal barbecue, and a tub heated by a wood burner.
There are two other cottages on the estate, and they can be booked together for twelve people, so you may share the woodland tracks with other guests. The tub needs stoking rather than switching on. On the plus side, the estate itself is the daily walk, through the trees to the lake and round the field edges with no road involved. The nearest route we list, the Richmond Castle and River Swale walk, is 6.5 miles away, and Richmond is 8 miles south, where The Station has turned the old railway terminus into a cinema, brewery, bakery and cafe.
- Sleeps: 4 across 2 bedrooms, plus a day bed
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, wood fired, in the walled garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, walled, with BBQ
- Nearest walk: Richmond Castle and the River Swale Walk, 6.5 miles
- Best for: Two couples who want two fires and a lake walk with no traffic
Wooden Hare, Finghall
Wooden Hare is the only lodge here and the one with the most generous dog rule: three dogs for three people. It is a five star single storey cabin at Finghall, on a shelf above lower Wensleydale, under a mile from Mouse Manor. The kitchen, sofas and dining area share one room glazed along the side facing the dale, and the dining table turns into a snooker table and then a table tennis table. The super king has a Smart TV, and the second room is a single with a full size trundle bed underneath. Outside are a decked veranda, a fenced lawn with sun loungers, and a private hot tub.
Sleeping three is the obvious constraint, and the fire is bioethanol rather than wood, so it gives a flame without the smell of a log burner. Beyond the fence is a paddock of Shetland ponies, which some dogs will find more interesting than the hot tub. The pub is 200 metres away, though the shop is 5 miles. Below the lodge runs the Wensleydale Railway, and the Middleham Castle and River Cover Loop is 3.5 miles off, round the castle where Richard III spent his boyhood and through a town whose racehorses head for the gallops early each morning.
- Sleeps: 3 across 2 bedrooms
- Dogs welcome: 3, more considered on request
- Hot tub: Yes, private
- Enclosed garden: Yes, a lawn and a decked veranda
- Nearest walk: Middleham Castle and River Cover Loop, 3.5 miles
- Best for: A small household with a big pack and a liking for games
Field Barn Cottage, Stapleton
Field Barn Cottage is built for one couple and two dogs, in farmland south of Darlington with every room on the ground floor. Inside it is a single open space: a kitchen against one wall, a table for two, a sofa at the far end, hard floors throughout, and a bedroom whose window looks across the lawn. The bathroom has a bath with a shower over it, which makes rinsing a muddy dog indoors a manageable job. Outside, the enclosed garden is mostly grass, with furniture set out on it and a wood fired hot tub.
It carries four stars rather than five, and the listing mentions no fire indoors, so cold evenings rely on the tub and the heating. Lighting that tub is a task to start well before you want to sit in it. The walk we have mapped nearest to it is 8.2 miles away at Richmond, though the farm keeps further fields beyond the fence, and the lanes and field paths towards Middleton Tyas are quiet. Piercebridge, 3.7 miles west, is where the Roman road crossed the Tees, and the stone bridge abutments still sit in a field on the south bank.
- Sleeps: 2 in 1 bedroom, all on the ground floor
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, wood fired
- Enclosed garden: Yes, a large lawn with furniture
- Nearest walk: Richmond Castle and the River Swale Walk, 8.2 miles
- Best for: A couple who want a quiet week and no steps anywhere
Field Barn Hut, Stapleton
Field Barn Hut is a shepherd's hut for two at Stapleton, a row of houses on the Tees south of Darlington, and it is the one place here with a paddock of its own. The hut stands in an enclosed garden with a picnic bench, a barbecue and a hot tub heated by burning wood, and beyond that a second, larger field is set aside for dogs to exercise and play in. Inside is one room with a raised built in bed, a fold away table, a kitchen with a gas hob, combination oven and fridge, and a separate shower room.
A hut is a hut, though, and the space is tight for two people and two dogs on a wet day. Heating is by electric radiators with no stove, the barbecue does not run on gas and you bring your own charcoal, and the nearest pub and restaurant are 2 miles off. The river path along the Tees is level and mostly open to dogs off the lead, and Croft-on-Tees, where Lewis Carroll grew up, is 2 miles upstream. Our nearest mapped route is the Richmond Castle and River Swale walk, 8.2 miles away.
- Sleeps: 2 in 1 room
- Dogs welcome: 2
- Hot tub: Yes, wood fired, in the garden
- Enclosed garden: Yes, plus an adjoining field for exercise
- Nearest walk: Richmond Castle and the River Swale Walk, 8.2 miles
- Best for: A couple whose dogs need a field to run in more than a sofa to lie on
Practical Advice for Booking a North Yorkshire Hot Tub Cottage with Dogs
Seven places that pass the same tests still vary once the car is unpacked. Before booking, look at:
- The dog rule against the party size. The Secret Garden allows one dog for four people. Wooden Hare allows three for three. Mouse Manor's third dog depends on the owners saying yes.
- Who lights the tub. The Gardeners Cottage, Field Barn Cottage and Field Barn Hut all burn wood to heat the water, so plan an hour or more before the first soak.
- Floors and stairs. Mouse Manor, Wooden Hare and Field Barn Cottage are all on one level. Maran and The Secret Garden put the bedrooms upstairs.
- Animals over the fence. Maran has hens, Wooden Hare has Shetland ponies next door, and two of these stays sit on working farms, so leads go on at the gate.
- Shared ground. Maran shares a yard with three other barns, and The Gardeners Cottage is one of three cottages on its estate.
- Distance to a mapped walk. Only The Secret Garden has one within a mile. Elsewhere, expect to rely on footpaths from the door or a short drive.
Map of Dog Friendly Hot Tub Cottages in North Yorkshire
Six of these sit in the north west of the county, between the Tees and the mouth of Wensleydale, and Maran stands apart to the south east, closer to Thirsk. Open the Wildpack map to compare each one against the Dales walks, the riverside paths and the stays around them.
6 stays on this pageMap these stays, and thousands more
The Wildpack Map plots every dog friendly walk, beach, stay and attraction we have listed across the UK. Open it to see what else is within reach in North Yorkshire, filter by what your dog needs, and get directions to the car park.
What's Nearby?
Further reading to pair with a North Yorkshire hot tub break:
- Dog friendly walks in the Yorkshire Dales: Longer routes up the dales that start a short drive from Mouse Manor and Wooden Hare.
- Dog friendly walks in the North York Moors: Heather and dale walking east of Maran, for a day away from the vale.
- Dog friendly beaches in Yorkshire: The coast for anyone willing to drive east for sand.
- Dog friendly campsites in the Yorkshire Dales: A cheaper way into the same country if the tub is not essential.
- Dog friendly cottages with hot tubs across the UK: The national list, to weigh North Yorkshire against other counties.
To widen the search past hot tubs, browse all dog friendly stays in North Yorkshire.
Final Thoughts
This is a county list for small parties. Nothing here sleeps more than four, so a group of friends or a large family with dogs will need to look elsewhere, but a couple or a household of four will find the choice unusually good. The strengths are short walks from the door, stone and hard floors that shrug off mud, and Richmond close enough to most of them for a day in town.
With an elderly dog, go to Mouse Manor for the single floor and the view up the dale. With three dogs and three people, Wooden Hare is the only one that fits. A family with one dog that would rather walk everywhere should take The Secret Garden, and a couple whose dogs need room to run will get the most from Field Barn Hut and its field.
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