Exmouth Country Lodge and Cottage

Exmouth Country Lodge and Cottage sits on the countryside edge of Exmouth, off Maer Lane, and it is built for the kind of trip where several families travel together and the dogs come too. The accommodation is arranged around a communal courtyard with an orchard attached, and there is a large garden with a paddock behind it, so there is proper outdoor room to let a dog stretch out between walks.

Inside, the layout is unapologetically group-sized: three bedrooms all with bunk beds, a large and well equipped kitchen, and a big dining table with benches to seat everyone at once. Up to three pets can stay, which is more generous than most self-catering places in this part of Devon, and the owners ask only that dogs are well behaved. No pet fee is published, so it is worth settling that directly when you book.

Guests travelling with dogs single out the combination of space and position. The beach is a short hop away, so morning walks are easy to build into the day, and Exeter is roughly half an hour by car when you want a day out that is not dog-shaped. The lodge format means you have the property to yourselves, with no shared corridors or lifts to negotiate with a nervous dog.

Two things to know before you commit. There is no television, which past guests have worked around with board games rather than minded, but it changes how a wet afternoon looks with children in tow. And only a small number of dog-owning guests have reviewed it so far, so the 4.4 out of 5 paw rating is an early read rather than a settled one.

It suits a family group or a set of friends travelling together with one to three dogs, who want space, a garden and a beach within reach far more than they want hotel service.