Dog-friendly Hotels Dumfries and Galloway

Sitting in an enviable position just outside the lovely little town of Gatehouse of Fleet, Blackloch is a large, detached farmhouse making the most of the beautiful views. It has been completely renovated and refurbished in 2022 and is bright and spacious and the perfect location for family or a group of friends to enjoy. Tastefully decorated and furnished throughout and with every room in the house having a wonderful view you will feel totally relaxed from the moment you step through the door. The large living room boasts comfortable sofas and a wood burner, the perfect place for all the family to gather after a day exploring. If you want a quiet space, just to sit and relax the sun room to the front of the house overlooks the garden and the beautiful countryside. The sleek and contemporary kitchen has everything you would need to create a home-made meal which you can enjoy in the separate dining room. Also on the ground floor is a large utility room perfect for drying coats and boots with ample space left over for bikes or even your dog cage. Also, in the utility room, there is a pool table which will give hours of fun for all the family. There are three spacious bedrooms with sumptuous beds and crisp white linen and with a bathroom and shower room it really has everything to make a memorable family holiday.
Sitting on a quiet country lane only ½ a mile from Gatehouse of Fleet you can take a wander into town and sample the food at the popular local restaurants or just meander through the town and visit the Mill on the Fleet and certainly Cardoness Castle which sits proudly at the entrance to the town. Set in a National Scenic Area and on the edge of the magnificent Galloway Forest Park there are a host of activities to keep all the family entertained with numerous coastal walks, beautiful beaches and forest trails. Cyclists are particularly well catered for with a magnitude of quite country lanes and the Galloway Forest Park is home to several of the world famous 7Stanes mountain bike trails. Beach 3½ miles.

This is a lovely semi-detached cottage found on the outskirts of Dalbeattie in Dumfries and Galloway. Rural views. Hot tub. Enclosed garden. Castle Douglas 8.8 miles; Dumfries 16.8 miles; Kirkcudbright 18.3 miles.

Situated in an elevated position in the centre of the picturesque Rhins of Galloway Peninsula and enjoying a wonderful outlook over Loch Ryan towards the Firth of Clyde with stunning panoramic views of Ailsa Craig, Isle of Arran and Mull of Kintyre, Cairncroft Cottage is an ideal base for a relaxing holiday with family or friends.
Adjacent to the owners’ home and recently renovated, Cairncroft Cottage is perfectly placed to enjoy the delights of this lovely corner of south-west Scotland.
The spacious kitchen/dining room has a halogen hob and provides the perfect place to enjoy a meal while chatting with friends, or why not challenge them to a game of pool in the large games room? Perfect for your evening entertainment. The lovely sitting room has views over the gardens which are also a delight, not only if you want to sit out and relax but also for the kids and four-legged friends to run around and enjoy.
Only 10 minutes from the picturesque holiday village of Portpatrick and also 10 minutes from the coastal town of Stranraer, you have the best of both worlds, wonderfully secluded and quiet, while attractions, restaurants, bars and services are all within easy reach.
There are many miles of quiet country lanes to explore, excellent for both walking and cycling, with an abundance of wildlife to see. As well as stunning wildlife, the area boasts an interesting and colourful history with numerous sites and monuments of historical interest, ranging from the early Christian remains of Kirkmadrine to the more recent WW2 activity of Loch Ryan. The rugged coastline, dramatic cliff-top walks, secluded sandy beaches and pretty little harbour villages all provide great wildlife and nature spotting opportunities with endless spectacular scenes to photograph or paint - the natural light in the area is exceptional. Why not visit Dunskey Castle, a ruined tower house dating from the 16th century, only a short cliff-top walk from Portpatrick, or spend the afternoon in the village, on Dunskey golf course or the putting green by the harbour? The village has a good selection of places to eat and drink and also hosts a monthly craft fair and producers market. Within Stranraer, Agnew Park has various attractions to entertain younger guests, and The Ryan Centre has gym facilities, swimming pool, children’s pool and cinema.
Well worth a visit is The Mull of Galloway, Scotland’s most Southerly point, with its lighthouse, visitor centre and amazing views of Ireland, England, Isle of Man and Scotland. Seabirds are a certainty and seals are common in the sheltered bays, lucky guests may even spot minke whales or basking sharks feeding in the temperate waters. Another must is visiting one of the many gardens in the area which include the world-renowned Logan Botanic Garden, Castle Kennedy Gardens with their Monkey Puzzle Avenue and Lily Pond or the unique Glenwhan Gardens.
With so much to see and do, come back to Cairncroft Cottage and sit back, relax and enjoy the view.

The large kitchen/diner is the hub of the house with patio doors opening onto the rear garden and where you can sit and enjoy a family meal. The living room is warm and inviting and with three bedrooms, one with en-suite it really is a great base to explore the area.
Auldgirth is a small village with an excellent pub and restaurant just a short stroll from Park Lane and around 10 miles from Dumfries the county town of beautiful Dumfries and Galloway. Dumfries has a range of activities to keep all the family entertained including numerous museums, the Camera Obscura, Robert Burns’ house or mausoleum - Scotland’s most famous poet spent the last years of his life here and adventure playgrounds for the younger members.
From Park Lane a must is a visit to Drumlanrig Castle and Estate where you can fish for salmon, enjoy a stroll through some of the beautiful walks and gardens, and the more adventurous can try mountain biking. Or why not just visit the castle itself on a guided tour?
Try the region’s fantastic 9 and 18-hole golf courses set amid stunning scenery. Enjoy the delights of the Galloway Forest Park, which not only has some stunning scenery, but is also the UK’s first Dark Sky Park where over 7000 stars and planets are visible to the naked eye on a clear day. Visit Caerlaverock Wetland Centre, a spectacular 1400-acre wild reserve, will keep you busy all day no matter what time of year. If you want to explore more of this beautiful area, there are attractions in abundance, from beautiful sandy beaches to dramatic cliff tops along the majestic Solway Coast. With sailing, swimming, horse riding, fishing, golf, boat trips and water sports close by, there is something for everyone.

1 and 3 Ladyknowe are delightful ground floor apartments just a 5-minute stroll from the heart of the vibrant and bustling little town of Moffat. All on the ground floor, these two apartments have been beautifully renovated and are cosy and welcoming. Each have a spacious open-plan living space with patio doors opening on to private and enclosed rear gardens where you can enjoy the hot tubs, the perfect place to relax after a day exploring the area. 1 Ladyknowe (ref UK39970) has two double bedrooms and a modern shower room, and also a quiet little space to sit as you enter the apartment. 3 Ladyknowe (ref UK39969) has three bedrooms, again with a modern bathroom.
Moffat is a buzzing little town where a whole host of events are held throughout the year, from farmer’s markets to a classic car rally and Gala Week. There are many speciality shops and some delightful award-winning cafés in the town. Located on the scenic Southern Upland Way, Moffat is the perfect place for walkers, and the town was in fact Scotland’s first ’Walkers Are Welcome’ town! Horse riding, quad biking and golf are all available locally, and the 7stanes offers world class mountain biking across Dumfries and Galloway, and the Scottish Borders. Rod hire is available in town for three fishing lochs at the Green Frog Centre on the edge of Moffat, which also has an adventure play park and animal farm.
Further afield there is an abundance of delights on offer, from the many beautiful beaches and forests to historic castles and stunning gardens. There are more than 200 miles of fabulous coastline for you to discover with some stunning scenery, much of which you can discover on the Southwest Coastal 300. No stay in Moffat would be complete without a trip to the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, one of Scotland’s favourite waterfalls plunging spectacularly 60m into the valley below. Being only an hour away from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, perhaps indulge in a day of shopping.
3 Ladyknowe can be booked together with 1 Ladyknowe (ref UK39970) to accommodate up to 10 guests.

Craigvar House is a late Georgian townhouse situated in a quiet and pretty area of the small Galloway market town of Castle Douglas. Retaining internally many of its period features and character, furnished with eco-friendly antiques, the house offers you the surroundings of an earlier, slower, more gracious age, yet has all today’s amenities and conveniences that we expect and enjoy. Craigvar welcomes you.
The house makes an ideal holiday base for exploring the rich history and countryside of Galloway and for comfortable relaxation in sumptuous surroundings. It is situated just a stone’s throw from Carlingwark Loch and its Lochside Park where there are fine countryside walks and a play area for children. Yet Craigvar House is just a few minutes’ walk from Castle Douglas’s wide range of amenities, including an array of independent shops selling produce and quality gifts, a theatre, swimming pool, library, golf course, pubs, and plentiful opportunities for eating out.
Craigvar House offers spacious, well-equipped accommodation. Leading off the attractive hallway are the drawing-room and dining-room, and a small boot and coat room. At the rear of the ground floor is the kitchen, off which is situated the ground floor shower room. The rear entrance leads onto the pretty, fully fenced, dog-secure garden. The staircase leads to a half-landing off which is a cloakroom and a double bedroom furnished with a kingsize bed. The stairs then lead up to the first floor landing off which are two large double bedrooms overlooking gardens opposite. One bedroom has a kingsize bed, the other has two single beds. Each room has its own en-suite bathroom, the first with shower, the second with bath and shower. There is a small study at the end of the landing. On the second floor is a small sitting-room with comfortable sofa and chairs, providing a quiet space separate from the main reception rooms. Leading off it is a walk-in cupboard, really useful for storing those pesky suitcases.
From Craigvar House the Solway coast is within a short drive, giving access to safe sandy beaches, dramatic cliff-top walks, and wonderful coastal scenery. Fishing opportunities abound whether it be sea, coarse or game. There is a large choice of further outdoor activities in the area including bird watching, cycling, golf, hill walking, sailing, shooting, stalking, wildlife trails and woodland walks. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, there are many beautiful gardens to visit, including the National Trust’s Threave Gardens nearby. Castle Douglas is close to the Galloway Forest Park, home to the first Dark Sky Park in Europe, and central to five of the “7stanes” - mountain biking heaven. Beach 13 miles.

High Auchenlarie Cottage is a traditional Galloway cottage set amidst stunning scenery with far reaching panoramic views out over Wigtown Bay. Whilst maintaining its traditional exterior, High Auchenlarie Cottage has been modernised throughout, and lovingly and tastefully furnished and decorated. The two living areas are beautiful and both maximise the panoramic views. The sun room is the perfect spot for reading whilst the living room boasts a wood burner, perfect for those chillier evenings. The modern kitchen is extremely well equipped where you will find the highest level of appliances, kitchen and dining ware. All the bedrooms take in that stunning panoramic view, two on the ground floor and two on the first floor, all tastefully decorated and boasting luxury linen. An ensuite shower room and a shower room on the first floor. There are also and ensuite bathroom and a shower room on the first floor makes High Auchenlarie Cottage the perfect location for a family or group of friends to enjoying the wonders of this beautiful corner of Dumfries and Galloway.
Six miles from the cottage is the small village of Gatehouse of Fleet where there are a couple of convenience stores and excellent cafés and restaurants. This corner of Dumfries and Galloway truly is magical with many sandy beaches and rocky coves along the coast, while inland there are many countryside walks to enjoy. Nearby the Galloway Forest Park, known for its starlit dark skies, has excellent cycle paths. There is so much to see and do with castles, prehistoric sites and specialist gardens, thanks to Galloways’ mild climate.
Activities for children include the Cocoabean Chocolate Factory with its chocolate workshops and indoor and outdoor play areas as well as Farm Parks, and don’t miss a visit to the Dark Space Planetarium in Kirkcudbright, an attractive harbour town where you can also watch the fishing boats returning with their catch. A must while staying at High Auchenlarie Cottage and just a couple of miles away along the quiet country lane is Laggan, a brand new dining experience, Gather, which has a modern café dining culture featuring international flavours and dishes. The views whilst dining are sensational!

Beira’s Garden, Knockendoch is a truly magical cottage set in expansive and award-winning gardens, beautifully planted and shaped by one of Scotland’s leading landscapists, with a variety of indigenous shrubs, trees and ferns. The house itself, built on the site of a former bothy, is wonderfully sheltered from the prevailing east winds and nestles into the lower slopes of two of Dumfries and Galloway’s most beautiful mountains, Knockendoch and Criffel. Even when there’s wind on the hills, there’s peace in Beira’s Garden!
The house itself has been beautifully decorated to the highest standard, with historic wallpapers designed to complement the moods of the different parts of the garden in each of the bedrooms - while the large kitchen-dining room and the light-filled garden room have been painted in restful shades. From one end of the garden visitors can sit and enjoy breath-taking views across the valley; at the other end they can sit and picnic next to the mountain stream that flows through the garden on its way down to the picturesque village of New Abbey, where there is a village shop, a pub and a cafe. On the summit of the hill opposite towers one of the best loved monuments of the region, the Waterloo Monument. Looking back down to the village, visitors have a splendid view of Sweetheart Abbey, a famous ruin once painted by England’s most famous artist, J.M.W. Turner - and from a spot very close to where Beira’s Garden now stands.
Until 2018, the route to Knockendoch and Criffel was almost impassable, but thanks to a recent council initiative a perfect walkers’ track has been laid and this now paves the way to one of the most beautiful views in Scotland. The summit of Knockendoch, which once took the hardiest walker 2 hours and more to reach, can now be attained in around 50 minutes. From the top there are amazing views across the Solway Firth and - on a clear day - all the way across to the peaks of the Lake District. From there the walk on to Criffel is easy and very scenic.
There are beautiful fishing lochs within a short distance from the house and the best organic delicatessen in southern Scotland is less than 10 minutes away by car. There is also a choice of three supermarkets 15 minutes away in Dumfries. There are few better places from which to explore wonderful Dumfries and Galloway than Beira’s Garden, Knockendoch. Beach 8 miles.

Cuil Park Cottage is a stylish three bedroomed cottage boasting two beautiful living rooms, two modern bathrooms and a lovely kitchen/dining room, the perfect recipe for a tranquil family holiday. All the bedrooms have outstandingly comfortable beds along with quality linen assuring you of that perfect night’s sleep. Each room has workspace and desk either in it or just outside, if you must work while enjoying this super cosy cottage there is plenty of quiet space to be found somewhere! Outside there is a large floodlit deck and a dry-stone wall barbeque as well an enclosed lawn. You are more than welcome to use the larger meadow that the garden leads onto.
Cuil Park Cottage is the perfect location to explore this wonderful area. For those that like to explore either on foot or bike the property is located on the Threave Estate walks, taking you straight into stunning traffic free walks and paths around the Threave Estate or into Castle Douglas itself. Castle Douglas, Scotland’s food town, is a 5-minute drive away and is a delightful small market town with an array of independent shops selling produce and quality gifts. There are number of cafés, pubs, and restaurants to enjoy a meal in, as well as excellent butchers and food shops for you to sample the local produce.
This unspoilt area of south-west Scotland offers magnificent scenery and has attractions in abundance, from beautiful sandy beaches to dramatic cliff top walks along the majestic Solway Coast. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, there are many beautiful gardens to visit, including Threave Gardens, a National Trust property. Close to the Galloway Forest Park, home to the first Dark Sky Park in Europe, and central to two of the worlds famous 7Stanes mountain bike tracks with Dalbeattie and Kirroughtree, offering routes for all levels and abilities. For those with young children, there are several great days out, from some of the finest sandy beaches to farm parks, including Ernespie Farm Park just 10 minutes away whilst the Dark Sky Planetarium in Kirkcudbright is a must for young and old alike. Beach 10 miles. Scottish Letting Licence DG00095F

Sea View 40 is a wonderful holiday home, taking advantage of the stunning sea views on a lovely holiday village in Southerness. It is set in a spectacular corner of south west Scotland, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Only a short walk away is the beautiful sandy beach where not only you, but your four legged friend can enjoy the vast beach.
The open-plan living area at Sea View 40 opens up onto the enclosed decking through the floor to ceiling patio doors, so whatever the weather you can make the most of that view. With two bedrooms, the master having its own dressing area and en-suite toilet, and a well-equipped kitchen, this really is a gorgeous home from home. There is lots on-site to entertain the whole family including the indoor swimming pool and entertainment nights, as well as restaurants, pubs and a shop (seasonal) in the village.
The coastal village of Southerness has undoubtedly some of the most outstanding views of the Solway Firth, with views towards the Lake District hills in the distance. Explore the beach and striking white lighthouse, originally built in 1749, and the second oldest lighthouse in Scotland. For the golfers in the family, a must is a round of golf on the famous Southernesss championship links course!
Whilst pottering on the beach or around the holiday park may keep you entertained all week, if you want to explore further afield you have the ideal base to discover beautiful Dumfries and Galloway, from its beaches and coves to cliff top walks and forest trails. A popular area for walkers and cyclists, there is world class mountain biking at Mabie and Dalbeattie 7Stanes. Magnificent gardens, castles and ancient monuments are also waiting to be explored. Wildlife abounds, and a RSPB nature reserve is just along the coast and is well worth a visit at any time of year. With countless historic sites throughout the region and many fun-filled activities for the kids from farm parks to chocolate factories, your holiday will be action packed.