Cramwell Cottage at The Ley Arms (Kenn, near Exeter)

Cramwell Cottage is a self-catering cottage attached to The Ley Arms, a country pub in the village of Kenn a short drive south of Exeter. The arrangement is the appeal: you get a private cottage with a hot tub in the garden, and a working dog-friendly pub through the wall for the evening, so nobody has to drive after a meal or leave the dog behind in order to eat.

Up to two pets are allowed per booking. Beyond that there is no published fee, weight limit or breed rule, so agree the specifics with the owners when you reserve.

The interior is the thing guests keep returning to, beautifully put together and immaculately kept, with a welcome pack of milk, bread, butter, cake and cookies that goes past the usual gesture. The owners run both the cottage and the pub, and the welcome is described as warm and attentive on both sides. Guests travelling with dogs describe the place as genuinely set up for them rather than merely tolerant.

Kenn is a quiet Devon village with lanes for everyday walks, and it sits close enough to Exeter, the Exe estuary and the eastern edge of Dartmoor to make a change of scene easy. The estuary path at Powderham and the Haldon forest tracks are both short drives for a longer outing.

One caveat carries real weight. The staircase is quirky and steep, and guests flag it as unsuitable for anyone with mobility problems, which applies equally to an older, arthritic or nervous dog that would need carrying. The living space also runs cosy: three bedrooms, but the lounge, dining table and hot tub each seat four, so a party of six adults will feel it. Best suited to a couple or small family with one or two dogs sure-footed on stairs, who want a village base with a pub next door and no drive home afterwards.