Cornwall is somewhere that most dog parents want to take their pooches at least once in their lives and that’s no surprise, there are so many dog-friendly places to visit and beaches to romp on. Finding the ideal place to stay in Cornwall at a reasonable price that is truly dog-friendly with touches of luxury can be harder though, however Doublebois Lodge Escape near Looe has you covered.
We were lucky enough to be invited to stay recently to paw around and judge for ourselves whether this ideally situated Cornish holiday park really welcomed dogs or just tolerated them. That question was answered on arrival when the spaniels spied the dog toy in their doggy welcome pack and headed into the massive secure dog field opposite our lodge for fun and fetch. If you have visited Cornwall before you will know that beautiful as the coastal walks and quaint little towns are there is a lack of opportunity for off lead frolics on some adventures so having this space for the dogs to let of steam was really welcomed.
The dog factor at Doublebois didn’t stop there though, and one of the highlights for the spaniels was a lovely dog walk around the golf course and through the woods. The golf course is public and you can even rent clubs if you have forgotten yours, Rod said it looked like an amazing course but with all the fun dog-friendly things to do he did not have time to take advantage of it, well that is what I told him anyway!
Those little dog-friendly details that reassure you a place actually welcomes dogs were not forgotten by Doublebois, a dog bed, blanket and bowl were provided as well as treats and the obligatory poop bags, and of course the dog toy mentioned earlier.
Human guests are not forgotten though, there was a luxury welcome pack full of Cornish goodies to welcome us and luxury Rituals Bath products in the bathrooms. We loved stepping into our fluffy white robes and slippers after our hot tub (don’t worry I will spare you pictures of that haha) I really loved that the decking area had a secure gate so we did not have to worry about the pooches wandering around out there when we were relaxing in the hot tub. My dogs are quite nosey so were on the lookout for passers-by but they were out of luck, it is such a peaceful place and although other lodges were obviously occupied there was no noise whatsoever.
The whole place has a relaxing vibe and our lodge which was a Premier Spa 2 was super stylish, the sofas were really comfortable, the kitchen well equipped, the WiFi really was fast and the TV was huge, the living flame fire added to the feeling of being where we should be. I can honestly say that that I can find no ‘buts’ to tell you about. It is such a relaxing place to stay.
We have to talk about the location of Doublebois Lodge Escape for a dog-friendly holiday in Cornwall – it is absolutely pawfect and is just a few miles away from Looe.
Looe is a proper old Cornish fishing town, and there’s plenty to discover if you take the time to explore. East Looe is the busier side, with its historic streets, independent shops and bustling harbour, while West Looe has a slightly quieter feel and some lovely views back across the river. The two sides are connected by a bridge, making it easy to wander between them, although you’ll find plenty of narrow streets and steep little lanes along the way. The harbour is at the heart of the town, with fishing boats, dg-friendly cafes to take a drink or a bite to eat and watch the world go by, and there was plenty of activity around the quayside to keep the dogs entertained. We visited the Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol which is dog-friendly and one of the oldest buildings in Looe, it was really interesting. There’s also a lovely sandy beach but much to the spaniels dismay, this is not dog-friendly at any time of the year. Rod was very impressed with his lunch of a Miner’s Pasty he purchased from Sarah’s Pasties, this was huge, one half was meat and the other apple but was he was too concerned about the reputation of the pasty eating seagulls to let me take a picture!
Looe is a very popular tourist destination so even in late October is was extremely busy, Maya and Lucia are used to crowds as we are city dwellers but if your dog is nervous I would recommend visiting early in the morning to avoid the crowds.
We also visited Polruan which is gorgerous and where you can get a passenger ferry over to Fowey. Polperro is easily reached from Doublebois but we did not visit this time as have been many times in the past, well worth going though if you haven’t.
There are so many dog-friendly places to visit within a short drive of Doublebois and being a bit of a history buff myself dog-friendly Restormel Castle was at the top of my list. It did not disappoint, the views overlooking the River Fowey were absolutely phenomenal from the battlements, this unusual circular castle is managed by English Heritage so is free to visit if you are members like we are, otherwise there is a small charge. Please note the castle is shut for the winter season from Nov-March.
A high priority with my dogs are beaches, of course there are lots of extremely picturesque coves nearby, Atlantic Bay is beautiful and allows dogs, it is a bit of a steep climb down but well worth it, bare in mind this location is very popular so the beach does get a bit crowded. Perhaps that is why from a dogs point of view Par Sands Beach is a better bet as the beach was massive and there was more space to run around.
We absolutely loved visiting Golitha Falls, there are a few waymarked trails of various difficulty here and we chose to do the route that took in Sibley Lake, this was marked as challenging but it was more moderate I would say, well I guess walk grading all depends on your perspective. There are dog-friendly cafes at both Sibley Lake and at the main Golitha Falls car park if you get hungry or thirsty.
We intended to walk up to The Cheese Ring from Minions on Bodmin Moor but when we arrived the fog was pretty thick so ended up just walking a few hundred metres to The Hurlers which is a bronze age site featuring three aligned stone circles. My long held wish of taking cream tea at the Minions Tea Rooms was scuppered as it was packed, I think this is about my third attempt over the years, but I am sure that one day I will pass there and there will be a table free. It is my only regret of this visit to Cornwall that I did not consume even one cream tea, but that is as good as an excuse as any in my book to go back again soon.
We were lucky enough to be invited to take a wander round the Eden Project (Just 14 miles from Doublebois) while we were in Cornwall, such an incredible place and you will soon be treated to a separate post about out visit there. I highly recommend making a slight detour on your way there from the lodge to visit Roche Rock, a 20 metre high quartz and black tourmaline outcrop with a historic chapel perched right on the top! Amazing, and free to visit I may add.
We really did have a fantastic time staying in luxury at Doublebois Lodge Escape and found it very welcoming to dogs as you have read above in the perfect location to explore the area. Personally when booking dog-friendly accommodation I always look for options like this that are not taking housing stock out of the local area and I think that Doublebois is one of those places that ticks every box. We are awarding it our coveted 10 paw rating.
Check out their site and take a look at the various dog-friendly accommodation options at Doublebois Lodge Escape, and while you are there why not book your next adventure with your dog!
Love
Sal, Maya and Lucia xxx
*Ad – We were gifted a stay at Doublebois Lodge Escape in return for an honest review and coverage on our social media (@woofwagwalk on Instagram)
In other news and a bit of a humble brag our blog has once again been rated at number I UK Dog Blog by Feedspot in their Top 70 UK Dog Blog List, if you are looking for other blogs to read why not check out their listings.
