The Journal

Considered
writing.

The walks worth the drive, the history that explains why a place looks the way it does, and the practical detail that's useful once you're standing there needing it. Slow to write. Worth the read.

Skelwith Fold in the Lake District, featured in the Poochouse Lake District guide
Featured · Regional guide

Dog friendly Lake District

A considered guide to Keswick, Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere and the wider Cumbria. What to do, where to walk, and what makes each town different for visitors travelling with a dog.

Read the guide






The South West Coast Path above the cliffs at Mortehoe, North Devon
Walking guide · South West

Walking the South West Coast Path with a dog

630 miles of cliff path, all of it walkable with a dog. The best sections and what to know before you go.

The enclosed courtyard garden at The Payhembury Farmhouse, Devon
Practical guide

Dog-friendly cottages with an enclosed garden

What “enclosed garden” actually means, how to check before you book, and the cottages we curate with secure outside space.

A dog settling at The Bude Coastal House: choosing a holiday cottage for an anxious or rescue dog
Practical guide · Nervous & rescue dogs

Holiday cottages for an anxious or rescue dog

The cottage features that make a difference for a nervous dog, and the questions worth asking before you book.

A bedroom at Skelwith Fold, Lake District: choosing a UK holiday cottage for a senior dog
Practical guide · Senior dogs

Choosing a UK holiday cottage for an older dog

Single-storey layouts, flat walks, step-free access. The features most listings ignore, and the regions that suit a slower pace.

A woodburner at The Cartmel Cottage, Lake District: wild or cosy, which suits your dog?
Guide · Choosing a collection

Wild or Cosy: which suits your dog?

Most people choose by picturing themselves on the beach, or by the fire. Worth asking what your dog would choose instead.

Beer beach in Devon, a classic stretch of the British coast
Brand · History

A short history of the British seaside holiday

Railways, postcards, and a Victorian boarding house that locked its own guests out all day. How the dog quietly became part of the story too.

The garden and Victorian exterior at The Porthleven House, Cornwall
Together · History

A short history of the British country house party

These weekends ran on working gundogs living in a kennel block, not a family dog by the fire. What's changed, and what a Together property does differently.

A historic English country house manor set among trees and lawns
Together · History

How the country house became a holiday let

The National Trust's first holiday cottage opened in the Lake District in the late 1940s, to pay for the roof. Every big group cottage since is its descendant.

Bournemouth Pier extending over the sea on the Dorset coast
Brand · History

The strange history of the English seaside pier

One engineer designed Brighton's, Bournemouth's and Swanage's piers. Both Dorset ones were breached in the Second World War, and both survived.