41 Mortimer Drive, Orleton

41 Mortimer Drive is a two-bedroom house in Orleton, a quiet Herefordshire village a few miles south of Ludlow, and the reason dog owners rate it is the enclosed rear garden. Almost every guest travelling with a dog mentions it: it is secure, it is private, and it means the dog can go out without a lead at any hour. It earns a 4.4 out of 5 paw rating.

There is one thing to establish before booking, because guests have been caught out by it. The property's booking listing publishes no pet-policy detail, but house rules about dogs do exist and have been discovered on arrival rather than in advance: dogs are to be kept downstairs and off the furniture. For a dog that normally sleeps upstairs or on the sofa, that turns into a holiday spent retraining, and at least one stay was plainly worse for it. Ask about the rules directly and you will know quickly whether the house fits your dog.

Beyond that it reviews strongly. The house is more spacious than a two-bedroom cottage usually is, tastefully done, and kept clean and tidy, with a kitchen equipped well beyond the usual holiday-let minimum and good quality bed linen. There is parking, and a small patio and freshly cut lawn off the garden. Two pubs are within walking distance and both serve good food, which is a genuine advantage when the alternative is driving after dinner.

The village is quiet to the point of sleepy, and that is rather the appeal: lanes to walk in, and easy runs over to Ludlow and Hereford. The minor grumbles are the sort you would expect - beds some guests found firm, an oven that has needed a better clean, a wobbly hallway shelf, and grass left long after a wet spell.

It suits the owner of a dog that is happy downstairs, who wants a secure garden, a proper kitchen and a village pub at the end of the road.