Dog-Friendly Places to Stay in Whitby

Seventeen pet friendly places to stay are published on BritStays across the Whitby region, and the mix tells you a lot before you start comparing listings. Eight are caravanning sites, seven are campsites and two are hotels. So if you're picturing a dog-friendly cottage with a wood burner, adjust expectations: this is largely a region of pitches, hardstandings and farm fields, with a couple of hotels for anyone who'd rather not pack a stove.

Where the dog-friendly stays cluster

Whitby itself accounts for nine of the seventeen, which makes it the obvious base if you want the coast, the harbour and Whitby Abbey within reach. Pickering has two. The rest are scattered singly: Egton, High Dalby, York, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Middlesbrough each have one. That spread matters more than it sounds. A dog walk from a Whitby site looks very different from one at High Dalby, and the drive between the two will eat a chunk of your morning.

For a coastal trip, look at the Whitby sites and at Runswick Bay Caravan and Camping Park over at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, which lists being near a bus stop — useful if you'd rather not move the car once you've parked it. For countryside and moorland, Lady Cross Plantation at Egton, Stoneclose Campsite at High Dalby and Kildale Camping & Barn sit you closer to the North York Moors and the walking that comes with it.

What the example stays tell you

The facility lists are a quick way to sort the simple from the serviced. At the simpler end, Kildale Camping & Barn lists toilets, parking and pet friendly, and no more — fine if you're self-sufficient and want somewhere quiet to come back to after a long walk. The Royal Oak Hotel at Middlesbrough lists pet friendly alone, so ask what that actually covers before you book.

At the other end, several sites are closer to small resorts:

• Whitby Holiday Park lists evening entertainment, takeaway food and a creche.
• Ugthorpe Lodge Caravan Park lists a swimming pool and a bar.
• Black Bull Caravan Park at Pickering lists a swimming pool, bar and restaurant.
• Low Bell End Farm Campsite lists a hot tub, restaurant and takeaway food.
• Sandfield House Farm lists a playground, toilets and disabled access.
• Bank Top Camping lists a cafe, toilets and a gift shop.

Across all seventeen, parking appears on thirteen, toilets and WiFi on nine each, bars and restaurants on five each, being near a train station on five, and a gift shop on four. If you're travelling with a dog and a car — most people here are — parking is the safe bet. WiFi is not: assume you may be without it unless the listing says otherwise.

Matching the stay to the trip

Families with children and a dog are best served by the sites with on-site distractions for rainy afternoons: Whitby Holiday Park, Black Bull Caravan Park, Sandfield House Farm. Lady Cross Plantation lists baby changing and a gift shop, which hints at a site set up for families rather than just hikers.

Couples who want food and a pint without driving should look at White Swan Campsite, which lists a bar and restaurant, or Stoneclose Campsite, which lists a restaurant and WiFi. If camping isn't for you at all, Claxton House Hotel at Redcar lists a bar, restaurant and disabled access, and Cliff Farm Holidays near York lists takeaway food, toilets and disabled access.

What to do once you're there

The North York Moors is the main draw for dog owners, and it's the reason the inland sites exist. Whitby Abbey, Danby Castle, Old Mulgrave Castle and Wilton Castle give you ruins and clifftop history to build a day around. Ormesby Hall and Normanby Hall are the grander options. Indoors, there's the Captain Cook Memorial Museum and Land of Iron in Whitby, the Dorman Museum and Platform Arts further north, Rievaulx Abbey Museum towards York, and the Bayle Museum down at Bridlington. For children, Flamingo Land, Scarborough Sea Life Centre and Newham Grange Leisure Farm are the usual fallbacks — check their own dog policies first, as these aren't stays and won't follow the same rules.

When to book

With only seventeen pet friendly options published, and nine of them in Whitby alone, the margin for last-minute luck is thin in July and August and over bank holidays. Book school holidays several months out. May, June and September are easier, and that's also when moorland walking is at its best. Late autumn and winter are quieter still, but confirm the site is open — campsites and caravan parks often aren't year-round.

Before you pay, confirm the dog charge per night, the number of dogs allowed, whether they must be on a lead across the site, and whether they can be left unattended in a van or room. Ring and ask rather than assume; policies vary site by site and aren't always on the listing.