Graham House, Osmotherley

Graham House is a four-bedroom holiday house in the middle of Osmotherley, a stone village on the western edge of the North York Moors, and the big rear garden is what makes it work for a dog. The whole house is yours, every bedroom has its own bathroom, and the garden is large enough for a dog to potter in while everyone else is indoors.

Dogs are welcome, and guests who bring one count it among the reasons the house suited them. The listing does not publish a pet charge or a limit on numbers, so both are worth confirming directly, particularly if you are travelling with more than one dog.

The village is the other draw. Osmotherley sits on the Cleveland Way and the Coast to Coast route passes through, so moorland walking starts at the door rather than after a drive, and there is a pub and a cafe a couple of minutes away on foot. For a dog that likes long days out, it is about as convenient a base as the western moors offer.

The house draws a mixed reception on upkeep and it is worth going in knowing that. Cleanliness is the recurring complaint - dust, cobwebs and grubby woodwork come up repeatedly - along with a kitchen guests find under-equipped for the number the house sleeps, and a stay where the heating failed in cold weather. Two garden features matter if a dog will be out there unsupervised: a pond partly hidden by planting, and a long flight of steps up to the garden with no handrail. Road noise, church bells through the night and a dog barking at a neighbouring property have all been mentioned too - none of it the house's doing, but all of it worth knowing if your dog settles badly. Dog-specific comment is limited to a couple of stays, so the picture is thinner than the overall review count suggests.

It suits a group who want space, en-suite bedrooms and moorland walking from the door, and who care more about the garden and the location than about a spotless finish.