Fairbank, Keswick

Fairbank is a small terraced cottage at Millbank Cottages, a short walk west of the middle of Keswick, and it is the kind of place people book because they intend to be out all day. Guests travelling with dogs pick out the location above everything else: the town, the river and the paths towards Derwentwater are all walkable from the door, so the dog gets its first outing before you have found the car keys.

Inside it is a straightforward holiday cottage rather than a designed one, with everything a couple or a small family needs spread over two floors, and it is clean and comfortable upstairs. Dogs are welcome throughout, and dog owners have been happy enough with it to say they would come back. Pets other than dogs are welcome too, but by arrangement rather than as a matter of course, so raise it when you book if you are travelling with a cat or anything less usual.

Two caveats are worth taking seriously. The ground-floor carpets and soft furnishings have picked up a strong smell of dog and need a deeper clean than the changeover gives them, so if that would bother you it is the thing to raise with the owner before booking. Cleaning downstairs has been patchy more generally, with floors still wet on arrival. There is also no covered space outside the back door, which in a wet Keswick week means wet boots and a wet dog coming straight into the house.

No pet fee, dog number or size limit is published for the cottage, so those are worth confirming with the owner alongside the arrangement for a non-dog pet. The 4.4/5 paw rating reflects a genuinely dog-friendly little house that would score higher with a better clean.

Best suited to a couple or small family with one or two dogs who want a cheap, central Keswick base and will forgive some wear for the position.