Birchbrae Highland Lodges

Birchbrae Highland Lodges is a small group of self-catering timber lodges at South Corran, on the loch side at Onich between Fort William and Glencoe, and it is set up for dogs with more thought than most self-catering sites manage. Guests arriving with dogs find treats and blankets put out for them alongside the biscuits left for the humans, and up to three dogs are allowed in any of the lodges - a higher limit than most places set, and one that makes this a rare Highland option for anyone travelling with more than a pair.

The setting is the main draw. The lodges sit in woodland with a walking area on site, so the first outing of the day does not need a car, and the surrounding country is about as good as dog walking gets in Britain: Glencoe, the shore of Loch Linnhe, the Ardgour hills across the water and Ben Nevis a short drive north. The lodges themselves are described as spacious, warm and properly equipped, with enough kitchen kit to cook for a group rather than reheat.

Two practical things are worth knowing before booking. A charge is made for bringing dogs and it is collected on arrival rather than taken at the time of booking, and the amount is not published on the property's booking listing - so ask when you reserve rather than meeting it at the door. And parking is tight: there are only a few spaces immediately beside each lodge with the overflow further up the hill, which is a consideration if you are unloading dogs and luggage, or if anyone in the party would rather not walk down a slope.

With a 4.7/5 paw rating, Birchbrae suits people who want a proper Highland base with dogs along - particularly groups and families with more than one dog, who will get more out of the three-dog allowance and the space inside the lodges than a hotel room could ever give them.