Church Farm Cottage, Northleach

Church Farm Cottage sits a few steps off the market place in Northleach, tucked round the corner from the square and hard against the church, and it is one of the easier Cotswold cottages to bring a dog to. The garden is fully enclosed and guests describe it as genuinely dog-proof, there is a footpath through the churchyard that becomes the standing morning walk, and open fields start a couple of minutes beyond it.

The welcome is a real one rather than a tolerance. Guests arriving with dogs regularly find treats left out for them alongside the milk, tea and occasional bottle of wine put out for the humans, and the owner leaves a book of local walks with a three-mile route that visitors single out as worth doing. Two pubs are within a minute or two on foot, along with a shop, a deli-cafe and a wine bar, so an evening out does not mean a drive.

One thing to plan around: the garden is not reached directly from the cottage - you walk round to it - and it doubles as the access route to sheds behind the property, so delivery drivers and the occasional workman do come through. Guests whose dogs take strangers in their stride have found this a non-issue. A dog that reacts to people appearing unannounced will need someone keeping half an eye out.

The cottage itself is old and characterful, with comfortable beds and fireplaces that get used. The stairs are steep enough to rule it out for anyone with mobility problems, one bedroom has an en-suite toilet open to the room, and several guests have found housekeeping and upkeep short of the mark - marks on soft furnishings and carpet, scale in the kettle, cooker trays not properly cleaned, and furnishings that are starting to look tired. That is what holds it to 4.4 out of 5; the location and the dog welcome are not in question. Best suited to families and couples who want a village on the doorstep and a garden the dog can be let into.