Dog-Friendly Places to Stay in Sidmouth

Eight pet friendly stays are published on BritStays across the Sidmouth area, and they fall into three clear camps: four caravanning parks, three hotels and one camping and glamping site. That's a small set, but a usefully varied one — you can pick between a park with a pool and evening entertainment, a traditional seaside hotel, or a quiet field with a cafe attached, and all of them take dogs.

Where to base yourself

Six of the eight are in Sidmouth itself, with one at Venn Ottery and one at Tiverton. If you want everything within easy reach of one base, Sidmouth is the obvious choice — it's where the hotels and most of the holiday parks sit, and it gives you the most options if your first pick is already booked.

Venn Ottery and Tiverton are worth considering for different reasons. Bowhayes Farm Sanctuary - Camping & Glamping at Venn Ottery is the only camping and glamping option in the set, and it leans rural and low-key with a cafe and toilets on site. Travelodge Tiverton is the practical one: pet friendly, with a restaurant and disabled access, and the sort of place that works for a one-night stop or a base for a day out rather than a full week's holiday.

Coast, countryside, and which suits your trip

The caravan parks are where families tend to land. Ladram Bay Holiday Park lists a swimming pool, a hot tub and evening entertainment, which covers a wet afternoon and a long evening in one go. Forest Glade also has a swimming pool and spa alongside evening entertainment. Oakdown pairs a spa and cafe with a playground, so it suits mixed-age groups where some people want a quiet hour and others need running-around space. Beer Head Caravan Park is the one to look at if you'd rather not cook every night — it lists a restaurant, takeaway food and toilets.

Couples after something calmer will usually prefer the hotels. The Royal York & Faulkner Hotel lists a restaurant and indoor areas as well as being pet friendly, which matters more than people expect when it rains and you need somewhere to sit that isn't your room. The Bedford Hotel is listed simply as pet friendly, so it's worth a direct call to ask exactly what that means in practice — which rooms, how many dogs, and whether they're welcome in the lounge or bar.

Facilities worth checking before you book

Across these eight stays, the most commonly listed facilities are:

• Pet Friendly — all 8
• Parking — 6
• WiFi — 5
• Toilets, Disabled Access, Gift Shop, Laundrette and EV Charging Nearby — 4 each

Parking on six of the eight is good news if you're driving down with a dog, a crate and a week's worth of kit. The laundrette appearing on four is more useful than it sounds — wet dog towels and muddy bedding mount up fast. EV charging is listed as nearby rather than on site at four, so if you're driving electric, confirm the arrangement directly rather than assuming there's a post by your pitch.

Days out when you've got a dog with you

The area around Sidmouth leans heavily towards heritage and small museums. Hemyock Castle, Escot House and Blackborough House cover castles and stately homes, and The Forge is a National Trust property. For indoor days there's the Coldharbour Woolen Museum in Sidmouth, Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life, St. Lawrence Chapel, Church House, Crewkerne Museum, Dulverton Heritage Centre and the Site of Old Torbay Aircraft Museum. Diggerland is the obvious one for children, and Paignton Zoo is the biggest wildlife day out on the list.

Be realistic here: most museums and indoor attractions won't take dogs beyond assistance animals, and zoos very rarely do. Grounds and gardens at the larger houses are often a different matter. Ring ahead on the day you plan to visit, and have a plan for who stays with the dog if the answer is no.

When to book

With only eight pet friendly stays here — and only three hotels among them — availability thins out quickly for school holidays and bank holiday weekends. If you want a specific park like Ladram Bay Holiday Park or Oakdown in high summer, book several months ahead. Out of season you'll have more room to manoeuvre, but check that pools, spas and entertainment are actually running before you commit, as these often operate on reduced schedules. Always confirm the pet charge, the number of dogs allowed and whether dogs can be left unattended in the accommodation — that last one varies a great deal and is rarely spelled out on a booking page.