Clematis Cottage, Fortrose

Clematis Cottage sits on the High Street in Fortrose, a quiet village on the Black Isle about half an hour north of Inverness, and the garden is what makes it work for dogs. It is generously planted and clearly looked after, guests with dogs can let them straight out into it, and they point to it as the best thing about the cottage - somewhere to sit with a coffee first thing while the dogs potter, rather than a token strip of lawn.

The walking is the other reason to bring a dog here. A path directly across the road drops down to the shore, and from there it is a straightforward walk along to Chanonry Point, the spit where bottlenose dolphins come close in on a rising tide. The village itself has a shop, a post office, two bakeries and a chip shop within a few minutes on foot, so a dog-walking holiday here needs very little driving. Inside, the cottage is clean, well equipped and comfortably furnished, and the owners are quick to check in by text if something needs sorting.

Two things to know. The cottage fronts directly onto the main road through the village, which can be busy, and there is no buffer between the front door and the traffic - anyone with a dog that bolts, or one not reliably on the lead, needs to take care going in and out, and the parking is on that road too. The owners also post a fair number of house rules, pets included, which some guests have felt sits oddly against an otherwise warm welcome. Nothing in them appears onerous, but it is worth reading them before you arrive rather than after. Dogs are taken by prior arrangement rather than as a standing policy, so say one is coming at the point of booking and not at the door.

Best suited to a couple or a small group with well-mannered dogs who want a walkable Highland village base, dolphin-watching on the doorstep and a proper garden to come back to. It earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.