Little Glencrest, Copley

Little Glencrest is a small self-catering cottage on Copley Lane at Butterknowle, in the County Durham countryside west of Bishop Auckland and on the edge of the Pennines. It is a whole-house let with no shared corridors and no reception to negotiate, which is most of the reason it works so easily with a dog: you arrive, you are in your own space, and nobody else's timetable applies.

The owners lean into the welcome rather than just permitting it. Guests arriving with a dog have found treats put out alongside the drinks and snacks left for the humans, which is a small thing that says the dog was expected rather than tolerated. There is a park about two minutes' walk away for the first and last outing of the day, and the cottage is set up for coming back muddy, with underfloor heating, a wood burner in the living area and a hot tub outside.

Up to two dogs are welcome, and the lawned garden is enclosed. No pet fee or weight limit is published on the booking listing, so agree the charges with the owners before you travel. Two recurring niggles are worth flagging. The hot tub has been reported as taking around nine hours to reach temperature from cold, and the wood burner takes some persuading to stay lit. There have also been reports of a lingering dog smell indoors from guests who were not travelling with one themselves, so if you are sensitive to that it is worth asking how recently the cottage was deep-cleaned.

The trade-off is isolation. There is very little within walking distance beyond the park, so you need a car for food, pubs and anything else. For a couple with a dog who want a quiet few days with a wood burner and a hot tub and no particular plans, that is the point rather than the problem. Little Glencrest earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.