Bagtor Mill, Dartmoor

Bagtor Mill is a thatched former mill in a wooded valley on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, tucked below the village of Ilsington with grounds running down to the River Lemon. For a dog it is close to ideal: acres of private woodland, ponds and a stream to explore, all of it immediately outside the door rather than a drive away.

What guests travelling with dogs mention first is simply how much ground there is. The track from the house leads on through the woods for an evening walk, and the ponds are an irresistible draw for anything that likes mud, which is why the hose on the side of the workshop earns so many grateful mentions. Indoors, the electric Aga keeps the kitchen warm and dogs tend to settle there; the house is set up so that muddy paws are not a problem. Parties of two and three dogs are common, and the owner has a strong reputation for being helpful and easy to reach.

A few practical points. There is no fenced or enclosed area anywhere in the grounds, so a dog with unreliable recall needs to stay on a lead, and deer are regularly seen in the woodland. Ticks are a genuine risk in this setting and at least one party picked them up on both the dogs and themselves, so treatment and a tick remover are worth packing. There are also no footpaths from the property onto the open moor, so Haytor, Widecombe and the Bovey Valley all mean taking the car, though none of them is far. Sound carries between the ground floor and the main bedroom, which matters more with a full house than with a dog.

Ilsington has a community shop and a hotel restaurant a few minutes up the hill, and the surrounding moor is exceptional walking country. Bagtor Mill earns a 4.8/5 paw rating and suits a large family or group with dogs who want private woodland on the doorstep and are comfortable with an open, unfenced setting rather than a secure garden.