Gertie's Getaway, Amble

Gertie's Getaway is a three-bedroom terraced cottage a street back from the harbour in Amble, on the Northumberland coast, and it is set up for dogs the way small owner-run cottages often are and larger places rarely bother with. Dogs get their own welcome pack alongside the one left for their owners, which guests travelling with dogs mention almost without exception.

Location is the strongest part of the case. The harbour is a two minute walk and the high street about five, and there is open grassland alongside the property that guests repeatedly describe as handy for a quick walk with the dog. There is also a gated decked area at the cottage itself, which matters for the first thing in the morning trip outside. Parking is on the road immediately outside, which counts for more than it sounds when you are unloading a car with a dog in it. Amble makes a practical base for the wider Northumberland coast, with the beaches and castles north and south of the town within easy reach.

Inside, the cottage is spacious, recently modernised and consistently described as spotlessly clean, with room for six to eight. It is a terraced house in a built-up street, so there is no view to speak of, and the town itself is quiet in the evenings. Guests who wanted more going on after dark said so plainly; guests who wanted a quiet base to explore from were happy.

A few practicalities. Check-in is late afternoon and checkout mid-morning, tighter at both ends than many self-catering properties, though guests report the hosts release the cottage early when they can. The stairs are ordinary domestic stairs, but a dog that has only ever lived in a bungalow may need carrying up the first time. The dog terms are published in full: there is no extra charge for dogs, two are taken as standard with a third sometimes arranged on request, and the house rules are the usual sensible ones - off the beds, your own throws over any sofa the dog uses, and nothing left unattended while the log burner is lit.

At a 4.6 out of 5 paw rating, Gertie's Getaway suits a family or a group wanting a clean, roomy dog-friendly base within walking distance of a working harbour, and happy to drive for the bigger beaches and castles.