Archway Cottage, Crich

Archway Cottage sits on School Lane in the middle of Crich, a hillside village on the eastern edge of the Peak District where the Derwent Valley drops away below and the Cromford Canal and High Peak Trail are both a short drive off. It is a whole cottage let to one party at a time, which is the format most dog owners quietly prefer: no shared corridors, no reception to steer a lead through, and no other guests to negotiate on the way in.

The property takes up to two dogs, and the cottage has an enclosed courtyard, which is a real advantage in a village let: somewhere to open a door onto last thing at night without reaching for a lead. Nothing is published on fees, weight limits or breeds, so anyone travelling with a larger dog should settle that with the owner before booking rather than assume.

What guests travelling with dogs consistently pick up on is how little driving the village demands. A shop, a bakery, a butcher, a fish and chip shop and an Indian restaurant all sit within a few minutes' walk of the door, so a dog left in an unfamiliar cottage is left for the length of an errand rather than for an evening. Dog owners describe arriving to find their animal thought about rather than merely tolerated, and the cottage itself draws steady praise for being clean, warm and properly equipped, with a welcome bottle and a few extras waiting.

Two things are worth knowing. The cottage is reached down a village lane and opened from a key safe, which has caught one or two arrivals out in the dark, and the sofa has drawn repeated comment for sagging in the middle. Neither affects a dog, but both shape the evening.

It suits a couple, or a pair with a dog or two, who want a walking base with the Tramway Museum, Crich Stand and the Derwent Valley on the doorstep, and who would rather have a village around them than a car park.