Britain’s best dog-friendly afternoon teas

Cream tea is an essential afternoon diversion on any dog-friendly Cornish holiday, and at the Teacup Tearoom in the tiny fishing village of Mevagissey, dogs get a warm welcome while you get warm scones. The homemade scones (plain or fruit) come with clotted cream and local jams, and you've got a choice of organic, Fairtrade tea or coffee, including the locally-grown Tregothnan tea. For the dog, there are bowls of water and blankets and a selection of grain-free treats at the cake counter. 

Come to Mevagissey for a day trip, or stay overnight in Paws & Stay's nearby places, such as The Old Barn at Lower Tresithick or the Round House East in Veryan.

There’s a lot more to House of Marbles than just afternoon tea: it’s part department store, part pottery museum, part marble run and part restaurant. Plus, there’s a glass-blowing studio where you can see demonstrations and commission your own pieces – and it’s all dog friendly. Once you’ve watched the elaborate marble runs do their thing and mooched around the old, listed bottle kilns and pottery exhibitions, you can sit down in the Old Pottery Restaurant for a fabulous afternoon tea. They have half cream teas for those with small appetites, picnic box cream teas for take away, and full-blown afternoon teas with West Country clotted cream, scones, sandwiches and cake.

In 2023, they even had a special anniversary afternoon tea to celebrate their 50th birthday, which was served playfully on a chessboard with eclairs, lemon possets, truffles and, of course, warm scones. Stay nearby at some of Paws & Stay’s favourite Devon places, like Dittisham Hideaways or Fingals Barn.

Book in advance at Hatters Tea Shop for their spectacular afternoon tea and you won't be disappointed. Norfolk-reared ham sandwiches are the savoury highlight, while an array of miniature cakes make the perfect pairing to the unlimited tea and coffee on offer, as well as the scones with jam and cream. There are gluten-free and vegan options, too, and the dog will get a good fuss from the team when you arrive. Stay nearby at 4 Coastguard Cottage in Holt.

Harrogate’s most famous tearoom (Betty’s) sadly doesn’t allow dogs, but this charming North Yorkshire town is packed with excellent alternate options. The Harrogate Tea Rooms is set within a handsome Victorian arcade, with wrought iron archways and striking chequerboard flooring, but it’s not just the decor that will impress. Expect fresh scones, moreish cakes and homemade sandwiches, and treats for good dogs on arrival. Nearby Ripon is home to the lovely Terrace Barn, the perfect place to snooze after filling up on sweet treats.

We love a good garden centre -- not least because so many across the UK are dog friendly. But at Torwood Garden Centre, which sits between Stirling and Edinburgh, there's something else to love: the Rousay's Café afternoon teas. The humans get the usual sandwiches, scones and cakes, while dogs are treated to a triple-tier tower of bowls with "peamutt" butter cakes, pork sausage and an array of treats alongside a fresh tennis ball for chasing afterwards. They can then spend the evening snoozing by the log burner at Wilderkin Cabin, too.

One of the National Trust’s many dog-friendly properties, Plas Newydd sits on the Menai Strait, overlooking the mountains of Snowdonia in the distance. Afternoon teas – involving Welsh cakes or scones with jam and cream – in its dog-friendly café can be enjoyed after a long walk within the grounds that surround the regal mansion here. There’s a cypress grove where red squirrels bounce between the trees and Grade I-listed gardens to admire.

Check out more dog-friendly National Trust properties here >.

You might find a small queue forming outside this tearoom on the shores of Ullswater, as Granny Downbekin’s is famous for its spectacular cakes. Dogs are welcome inside and out on the terrace, and the menu offers sparkling afternoon tea, which comes with a bottle of bubbly, a sandwich selection, traybakes and scones with cream and jam. There are also excellent lunches on offer if you need something more substantial, and plenty of footpaths to walk it all off afterwards around Ullswater Lake.

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