A dog-friendly weekend in Kendal: Lakeland Motor Museum, castle views and dogs welcome inside

Kendal is often treated as the place where the road signs begin pointing towards somewhere else. Stay for the weekend, though, and the old market town makes a very good dog-friendly base in its own right. There are riverside paths, limestone yards, the remains of a hilltop castle and an unusually good indoor attraction where the dog can explore alongside you.

This itinerary runs from Friday evening to Sunday lunch. Saturday has one main outing rather than a relay race around the Lake District, while Sunday stays in Kendal for a walk and a proper roast before the journey home. Every food stop named below welcomes dogs inside.

The weekend in brief

Friday is for settling into Kendal with a short wander beside the River Kent and Spanish-inspired food at 98 Highgate. Saturday belongs to Lakeland Motor Museum, where dogs are welcome throughout the exhibits and indoor dog-friendly seating is available at Café Ambio. Dinner is back in Kendal at Ye Olde Fleece Inn. Sunday brings a walk up to Kendal Castle followed by lunch at Romneys.

Friday evening: the River Kent and 98 Highgate

Once the bags are down, take the dog for an undemanding wander beside the River Kent. Paths follow the river through the centre of town, passing Gooseholme and the green spaces around Abbot Hall. It is enough to stretch legs after the journey without accidentally beginning a fell-walking career before dinner.

Kendal’s centre is full of old lanes and narrow yards, so let the walk drift towards Highgate rather than turning it into a fixed route. The Visit Kendal guide to the town’s green spaces has more detail if you want to extend the riverside section.

Dinner is at 98 Highgate, an independent bar and Spanish-inspired kitchen in a 17th-century building. Dogs are welcome inside, and the atmosphere sits comfortably between relaxed pub and proper evening meal.

Food comes from its sister restaurant, Comida, with tapas, bagels and patatas bravas among the options. It is particularly good for sharing a collection of plates while the dog performs a forensic inspection of every arrival from the kitchen.

98 Highgate opens from midday on Fridays and stays open into the evening. Food hours can be shorter than bar hours, so check the current opening information before travelling.

Saturday: Lakeland Motor Museum

Lakeland Motor Museum at Backbarrow is Saturday’s one main activity. It is outside Kendal, near the southern end of Windermere, so this part of the weekend needs a car. Free customer parking is available opposite the museum.

This is one of the rare attractions where bringing the dog does not reduce the visit to a lap of the grounds. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome throughout the museum, which holds more than 30,000 exhibits covering cars, motorcycles, bicycles and motoring memorabilia.

The collection is broader than the name might suggest. Alongside the vehicles are recreated period shops, a 1930s garage, displays about local industries and the Campbell Bluebird exhibition, which follows the land and water speed-record achievements of Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell. Even somebody who does not usually become emotional over a beautifully preserved dashboard should find plenty to investigate.

The museum is compact enough not to become exhausting but substantial enough to justify making it the day’s main plan. Take your time, let the dog perfect their quiet-museum-walk and resist the temptation to read every display aloud to them. They are interested, but they have limits.

Lunch is available at the adjoining Café Ambio. Indoor dog-friendly seating is provided, and the café serves lunches, cakes and drinks in a riverside setting overlooking the River Leven. It means the visit can pause naturally for food without anybody having to guard the dog outside.

The museum opens throughout the year apart from Christmas Day, with seasonal closing times. Check the official Lakeland Motor Museum website for current hours, ticket prices and any events taking place on the day of your visit.

Afterwards, return to Kendal and leave some breathing room before dinner. Saturday has already done its job.

Saturday evening: Ye Olde Fleece Inn

Dinner is at Ye Olde Fleece Inn on Highgate. Dating from the 17th century, it is one of Kendal’s oldest surviving inns and still has the beams, corners and historic character required of somewhere carrying the words “Ye Olde” without irony.

Dogs are welcome inside, and food is served in the main pub as well as the restaurant. The menu combines familiar pub dishes with more seasonal gastropub cooking, backed by real ales, craft beer, wine and cocktails.

This is the right sort of Saturday dinner after several hours of attentive museum behaviour. The humans can order something substantial, the dog can collapse beneath the table as though personally responsible for preserving Britain’s motoring heritage, and nobody needs another plan afterwards.

Food is normally served during both the daytime and evening. Booking ahead is sensible for Saturday, and it is worth mentioning the dog when reserving so the team can assign a suitable indoor table.

Sunday: Kendal Castle and Romneys

Sunday begins with the walk up to Kendal Castle. The ruined castle stands on a hill above the town and dates largely from the 12th century, although it is most often associated with the family of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth wife.

Dogs are welcome in the grounds and among the ruins. The climb is noticeable without needing to become the morning’s entire personality, and the reward is a broad view across Kendal towards the surrounding fells.

There is no admission charge and no formal route to complete. Wander among the remaining walls, take in the view and give the dog enough time to inspect a castle that is, from their perspective, an unusually elaborate collection of outdoor corners.

The castle can be approached from the town centre via the riverside, making it easy to turn the visit into a longer walk if everyone still has energy. If the weekend has already produced sufficient hills, a shorter approach from the residential streets below the castle works just as well.

Sunday lunch is at Romneys, a stone-built gastropub on Milnthorpe Road. Dogs are welcome in the bar, where dining tables allow everyone to eat together inside. Water bowls and treats are usually available too.

Romneys is particularly known for its Sunday roast, with four meats normally offered alongside the rest of the menu. Food is served from midday, and booking is strongly recommended because Sunday can become busy. Ask for a table in the dog-friendly bar area when reserving.

It is a satisfying final stop: a proper lunch, a comfortably tired dog and no pressure to invent one last attraction before setting off. Leave after lunch or linger over another drink until the post-roast debate about who is fit to drive has resolved itself.

Kendal works well because it provides both sides of a Lake District weekend. The town has riverside paths, old buildings and a castle walk, while Lakeland Motor Museum supplies a substantial indoor day out where the dog is genuinely included. Add three very different meals with dogs welcome inside, and the weekend remains workable even when the weather arrives horizontally.

The Kendal page on The Dog Friendly Map has the full current directory if you want to change a meal, find another indoor stop or add some secure off-lead time.

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