Five Bells, Wickham

Wickham is a scatter of houses on the Baydon Road in the West Berkshire downs, and the Five Bells is more or less the centre of it: a proper village pub with an open fire, a restaurant people drive to, and a handful of rooms above. For dog owners the appeal is straightforward. You can walk out of the door into open country, come back, and eat without getting in the car.

Dogs are accepted by prior arrangement, so the one thing to do in advance is tell the inn you are bringing one. Beyond that nothing is published - no stated fee, no weight or breed limits, no cap on numbers - so anything specific needs settling with the pub directly when you book. What guests report is unambiguous, though. Dogs are welcomed, parties have stayed with two dogs at once, and dog-friendliness turns up among the reasons people liked the stay rather than as something they had to negotiate.

Staff come out well and consistently: friendly, helpful, quick with a welcome. The food draws more praise than anything else here. Rooms are described as small but spotless, with one or two carrying features well above the pub-room average, including a roll-top bath.

Walks surround the pub on every side, which is the practical reason to choose it over a hotel in Newbury. It also works as a stopover, sitting handily for the A34 and the run west towards Bristol.

Two caveats. Rooms are genuinely small and short on storage, and guests have wanted for tea-making facilities and a hairdryer, so pack accordingly. More relevant if your dog is anxious in company: this is a working local, and the bar can get loud in the evening - guests eating dinner have found the regulars boisterous enough to complain about it. A dog that settles under a table in a busy pub will be fine here. One that does not may be better off upstairs.

Best suited to couples touring the downs who want walks from the door and a good dinner at the end of them, with a dog that is comfortable in a lively bar.