New England has a special (and calorific) place in my heart as Bodie and I explored these six scenic states while researching my cake-themed novel The Traveling Tea Shop (Penguin USA, Hodder UK). Here we share our favorite dog-friendly stop-offs, from Mystic Pizza in Connecticut to the Von Trapp Lodge in Vermont…

Welcome to Mystic – yes! As in the Julia Roberts’ movie Mystic Pizza! Here Bodie got a slice to go, visited the Black Dog shop on Main Street, strolled across the Mystic River (which has a bridge that raises up to let passing ships through) and tried the cupcakes from Lis Bakery while sitting watching the bobbing boats. So charming. CLICK THE PICS TO ENLARGE!

Newport, Rhode Island has some of the most glamorous dog walks in the US – stroll past the magnificent Gilded Age mansions on Bellevue Avenue, watch the sun set on sweeping Ocean Drive and get your morning bluster of sea air amid the wildflowers of Cliff Walk. We stayed at the exceptional Cliffside Inn, dined alongside yachties at historic Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf and stocked up on dog cookies at deluxe pet store Wag Nation. FULL GUIDE COMING SOON

The perfect pit stop halfway between Newport, RI and Provincetown, MA, Sandwich is the first and oldest town as you enter Cape Cod. We enjoyed a traditional English cuppa in the pretty garden at The Dunbar Tea Room, just across the way from the old grist mill and a creaky iron water pump ideal for dog-lapping.

Bodie and I took the 45 minute ferry ($8.50 for adults, dogs sail free) from Woods Hole to the summer island of Martha’s Vineyard – a favorite getaway for President Obama, Bill Murray and Jon Bon Jovi and home to the original Black Dog General Store (pictured below)! Bodie actually met the black Labradors that inspired this iconic nautical franchise and got to share some of their treats!

Provincetown has such a playful, celebratory vibe! Stay at the magical Land’s End Inn then amble down Commercial Street (with its jaunty bunting and 20+ dog-friendly dining patios) and your eyeballs will be entertained at every turn – a glitter encrusted drag queen here, a weathered gray shingle house there… The whole town is brimming with joie de vivre and puppy love! SEE FULL GUIDE BELOW…

We overnighted at the legendary Omni Parker House Hotel where the Boston Cream Pie originated and where JFK proposed to Jackie!. Next time we’re opting for lock-down at The Liberty Hotel – a former prison with a scandalous past! Bodie tried on a Boston Red Sox jacket at Pawsh Dog Boutique on Newbury St, ate Pupcakes from Sweet and roamed the 50 acres of Boston Common – the oldest city park in the USA!

I have written a whole post dedicated to the dog-friendly brilliance of the Inn by the Sea (see below)! Firstly there’s the unspoiled natural beauty of the Cape Elizabeth setting, then there’s the fact that your dog – having chosen his dinner from the Dog Menu – can join you in the bar to dine fireside. Add to that the option for a blissful Dog Massage and the fact that the staff look after rescue pups on property that often end up finding a home with guests… In a league of its own!

You can’t get more picturesque and heart-warming than the Hartstone Inn, set in the idyllic coastal town of Camden, Maine. One of the great delights of a New England inn is the gourmet breakfast and the Hartstone Inn goes one better with a gourmet dinner. Our dog-friendly suite was positively deluxe with a downstairs lounge to relax in and an upstairs dominated by a giant four-poster bed. Our best sleep of the trip!

Boarding the dog-friendly Valley Train at the immaculate Victorian station in Conway is like stepping back in time – all the way to 1874! We tootled through the countryside with Bodie gawping out of the window on a roundtrip that takes just under an hour. Tariff: $17 for adults in coach and $21 in first class – dogs ride free!
(Also recommended – the rainbow layer cake at McKaella’s Sweet Shop.)

I love Grande Dame hotels – legendary institutions that have (in the case of the Omni Mount Washington Resort) entertained everyone from Thomas Edison to Alfred Hitchcock. Nestled amidst New Hampshire’s breathtaking White Mountains, Bodie and I stayed down the winding driveway at the dog-friendly Omni Bretton Arms in a cosy, plaid-accented room where, frankly, we could have stayed for months.

Dog Mountain is a special part of Artist Stephen Huneck’s legacy – a must-visit for dog lovers, especially if you want to remember a dearly-departed pet. Visitors pin photos and messages to the walls of the peaceful Dog Chapel, filling it with love. Huneck’s distinctive and witty paintings are displayed in the dog-friendly gallery offering mementos in the form of prints, mugs and t-shirts. All the while dogs are free to run and play off-leash on this 150-acre mountaintop sanctuary.

The hills are alive with the sound of snoozing! Bodie was so content staying at this picture-book lodge, built by the family that inspired The Sound of Music. (When the Von Trapps left Austria they chose to settle in Vermont as it recalled their beloved homeland.) Stay highlights include a feast of a breakfast and an insider tour with a descendant of Maria and the Baron (we met former Ralph Lauren model Sam Von Trapp!). Better yet our visit coincided with the local on-property dog agility trials!