A luxury retreat and a pub offering a special canine breakfast have received awards at a national competition recognising dog-friendly businesses.
The Three Blackbirds pub in Newmarket and the Wilderness in Saxmundham have both won awards from PetsPajamas, a dog friendly travel agent based in London.
Winning the Best Dog Friendly pub with rooms award, the Three Blackbirds impressed the judges thanks to its recent refurbishment offering guests a warm welcoming stay, with modern rooms, good food and local ales.
The judges were also impressed with the warm welcome specifically offered to pooches, including a sausage breakfast, treats from Pooch's of Norfolk and recommendations for walkies.
Speaking about their award, John Mills, General Manager, The Three Blackbirds says: “Nestled in the Suffolk hills, The Three Blackbirds is situated in perfect dog-walking territory and all of our team are huge dog-lovers.
"We want our four-legged friends to feel as much at home as their owners when they visit, so we have created a special dog menu, doggie stay packages and they even get their own special stocking at Christmas.
"As the team work quite long hours, a lot of us aren’t able to have our own dogs so we always love it when we’re visited by dogs and their owners.”
He added: “We are delighted to have won a PetsPyjamas award. We all love what we do at The Three Blackbirds and while we don’t do it for the awards, it is always lovely to be recognised.”
Wilderness, in Saxmundham won the Fido's Family Friendly award, thanks to its collection of 12 farmhouses set in an estate stretching over thousands of acres.
With plenty of options for families and for special occasions, judges saw the appeal of lazy days fishing, toe dipping, doggy paddling and enjoying the swimming pool and tennis courts.
Speaking about their award, Daren Haysom, sales director at Wilderness and owner of two Jack Russells called Billie and Claude, said: “Wilderness Reserve is as much about the environment and landscape as it is the properties. With 8,000 acres of parkland, woodlands and meadows to explore it’s perfect for a canine companion and we want to be somewhere you can bring the whole family.
"It’s great to be recognised as a dog-friendly estate, our pets have played a huge part in all of our lives over the last few years and they deserve a treat.”
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