Bowler Yard Cottage, Mansfield

Bowler Yard Cottage sits in a vineyard on the edge of Warsop, in the countryside between Mansfield and Sherwood Forest, and the setting is the point: open views, birdsong, a lane quiet enough to walk a dog on, and almost nothing else. Sherwood Forest and the Dukeries estates are a short drive away, and a country park with proper off-lead space is about two minutes by car.

The owners live next door and are the reason most dog owners rate it as highly as they do. Arrivals find fruit, fresh flowers, a welcome pack and often a bottle of wine or apple juice pressed on the property itself, and the hosts are around if anything is needed without ever intruding. Dogs are treated as normal guests rather than an exception, and the cottage is spacious and warm enough that a wet dog and a drying rack do not take over the place.

The important caveat is the garden. It is not fully dog-proof, and enough guests have said so that it should be treated as a fact of the property rather than bad luck: the front is enclosed, but there are gaps under the rear hedge that a determined dog will find, and the back patio is open. Owners of escape artists should plan to supervise rather than let the dog out unattended. Two smaller things: there is nowhere on the property itself for a real walk, so the country park does that work, and the roosters next door start early.

For a quiet countryside base for exploring Sherwood with a dog that sticks close, this is a comfortable and generous cottage. Bowler Yard Cottage earns a 4.6/5 paw rating.