Loveston Barn, East Williamston

Loveston Barn is a converted stone barn in the quiet farmland of south Pembrokeshire, and the one thing dog owners return to is the garden. It is fully enclosed, generous in size and entirely private, so a dog can be let out at any hour without a lead, a gate check or a walk to a communal patch. For anyone who has spent a holiday managing a dog around an open garden, that alone changes the shape of the week.

The property publishes no pet fee or dog limit, so agree numbers with the owner when you book. Parties arriving with two dogs is common and causes no difficulty, and the owner has a reputation among guests for answering messages quickly and helpfully. Inside, the barn is warm, cosy and stocked with local walking information covering both short circuits and longer routes.

It is properly rural. The nearest shop or pub is a ten to fifteen minute drive, so this is a stay you stock up for rather than wander out from. Free-range chickens have the run of the land beyond the garden, which is charming if your dog is steady around birds and a good reason to keep them leashed outside the enclosure if not. Tenby, Saundersfoot and the Pembrokeshire coast path are all roughly twenty minutes by car, and the beaches are closer than the shops.

The barn is showing its age in places. Guests mention chipped and mismatched crockery, loose taps and firm beds, and cleanliness is the one area where reports genuinely diverge: most describe it as clean and tidy, but a minority have arrived to find dog hair left from a previous stay and a lingering smell, so it is worth raising with the owner straight away if that happens. The path between the parking and the door also tracks mud indoors in wet weather.

Best suited to a couple or solo traveller with one or two dogs who want a genuinely secure garden and deep quiet, and who do not mind driving for everything else. It earns a 4.6/5 paw rating.