Heather Cottage, Thorpe Market

Heather Cottage is a period property in Thorpe Market, a village in North Norfolk a few miles inland from Cromer, and the garden is what brings dog owners back. It is a generous plot with room to sit out, and guests travelling with dogs consistently describe it as the best part of the stay. Inside there is a log burner laid ready on arrival, a conservatory that comes into its own in summer, and a large, well-stocked kitchen.

The position suits a touring holiday rather than a beach one. Cromer and its pier are a short drive, Felbrigg Hall is close enough for a morning out, and Norwich is comfortable for a day, so the cottage works as a base for owners happy to cover ground with a dog in the car. There is plenty of room to park on site, which matters here.

One caveat is more serious than the usual small print and worth acting on. The garden is bounded by a busy main road, and guests arriving with large dogs have found the boundary fence collapsed and several posts rotted through, with nothing between the garden and the traffic. The emergency number was answered and the owners responded, but the lesson stands: walk the boundary yourself before letting a dog off the lead, whatever the listing says about an enclosed garden. The same road makes the driveway a blind bend, and turning right out of it is awkward enough that guests tend to turn left and double back.

Other reports are more ordinary. The mattresses are tired, there has been mould in one of the bathrooms, and road noise carries into the front of the house. At 4.2/5, Heather Cottage suits owners who want space, a garden and a quiet corner of Norfolk to explore from, and who will check the fence line themselves rather than take it on trust.