Church View, Bamburgh

Church View is a first-floor apartment on Lucker Road in Bamburgh, a couple of minutes from the village, the beach and the castle, and its main appeal to dog owners is straightforward: dogs stay without an extra charge, which is increasingly rare on this stretch of the Northumberland coast.

The apartment itself is well proportioned and properly equipped, with a bath, washing machine and dishwasher, a generous supply of pans and utensils, and a welcome pack on arrival. Bamburgh is an excellent dog-walking base, with miles of open sand below the castle and a village full of pubs and restaurants that take dogs, so the absence of a private garden is less limiting here than it would be elsewhere.

That absence is still worth planning for. There is no outside space at the property at all, so every trip out, including the last one of the night, is a walk.

The bigger caveat is condition, and it is consistent enough to state plainly. Guests arriving at this apartment repeatedly report a strong smell of dogs, in some cases specifically of dog urine near the entrance, and several have had to ventilate the place before settling in. Cleanliness is variable more generally: dog hair in the carpet, pans and crockery put away dirty, damp on a living-room wall and paint lifting in the bathroom have all been raised. Add poor soundproofing from the apartment below, a bath that drains as you fill it, an oven that does not work and parking that guests find awkward.

Best suited to dog owners who want a cheap, well-located Bamburgh base for a walking trip, who do not need a garden, and who will not be put off by a property that smells of the dogs before theirs.