Bogindour Cottage, Muir of Ord

Bogindour Cottage stands at Tore, a scatter of houses on the Black Isle where the roads to Inverness, Cromarty and the north-west divide. It is a whole cottage with its own garden. The postal address is Muir of Ord, though the cottage sits nearer Munlochy - about three quarters of an hour on foot along the road to the Allangrange Arms, which does a decent dinner.

Only one dog-owning guest has left a detailed account of a stay here, so read what follows as a single strong report rather than a settled pattern. Winter is what this place is built for. There are two wood burners, one in the sitting room and one in the kitchen, backed by storage heaters, and that guest described the cottage as unreservedly dog-friendly, with a dog stretched out in front of the burner the picture that stayed with them. One well-behaved dog is the stated limit.

The location earns its keep in both directions. Inverness is twenty minutes south and Loch Ness not much further, while the Black Isle itself offers quiet lanes, the bay at Munlochy and the coast at Rosemarkie and Cromarty for longer walks. For a dog that likes a shoreline, and a driver who would rather not spend the holiday on the A9, it is well placed.

One caution matters more here than the usual small print. Part of the garden is overgrown and contains an uncovered pond, which guests have flagged as a hazard for small children and small animals alike. Anyone bringing a dog with an unreliable recall should walk the boundary before letting it loose. Guests have also reported an oven left uncleaned and no extractor fan in the kitchen, so the grill sets off the smoke alarm.

Best suited to a couple or small family with one dog looking for a warm, quiet Highland base out of season, who will check the garden before the first off-lead run.