Clotted Cream Cottage, Ash, Dartmouth

Clotted Cream Cottage sits in deep South Hams countryside at Ash, a few minutes' drive from Dartmouth and the dog-friendly beaches along that stretch of coast. It is a detached, whole-house rental with a hot tub, a sauna and an open fire, and the thing that makes it work for dogs is the garden: a big, genuinely rural space next to a working farm, with no shared corridors or neighbouring guests to negotiate.

Dogs are welcome here without fuss, and the owners point to that large garden as somewhere both dogs and children can run about. Guests travelling with dogs consistently rate the setting highly - the quiet, the space, and how quickly you can reach the coast or Dartmouth itself.

The caveat is upkeep, and it is a real one. Dog owners staying here have repeatedly flagged that the cottage is tired and not always cleanly presented: dust and cobwebs in corners, grubby soft furnishings, a musty smell indoors and a muddy approach to the hot tub. Several take the view that a property taking dogs will inevitably show wear, but the complaints go beyond that. The garden's long grass also comes up specifically as a nuisance when clearing up after a dog. Worth knowing too that guests are expected to bring their own washing-up liquid, dishwasher tablets and toiletries, and to strip the beds before leaving.

That balance is what the 3.9/5 paw rating reflects. If you want a peaceful rural base where the dog has a large garden to itself and a beach within minutes, and you are relaxed about a well-used holiday cottage rather than a pristine one, Clotted Cream Cottage delivers exactly that. If cleanliness is the thing you notice first, look elsewhere around Dartmouth.