Lowefield B&B, Stirling

Lowefield B&B sits on the main street in Bannockburn, a couple of miles south of Stirling city centre, and it is the kind of small owner-run bed and breakfast where a dog is treated as part of the party rather than an awkward extra. Dogs stay in the guest rooms with their owners, and the shape of the place helps: it is a private house rather than a corridor of identical rooms, so there is no lobby to steer a damp spaniel through at six in the morning.

What comes through most consistently from guests travelling with dogs is the welcome itself. The host is named again and again for being attentive without hovering - late arrivals accommodated, somewhere found to eat when the local kitchens had closed, snacks and a nightcap left out. Owners who brought two dogs describe being made to feel at home with them rather than tolerated, and the breakfast earns as much praise as anything else about the stay.

The location suits a dog holiday better than a Stirling address might suggest. Bannockburn sits on the edge of open country, with the burn itself and the battlefield site a short walk away, and the canal towpaths east towards Falkirk and the Kelpies make for flat, traffic-free miles that are easy on older legs. Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument and the Ochil Hills are all a short drive for the bigger days out.

Two things to settle before you book. The property's booking listing carries no stated pet policy at all - no fee, no weight or breed limit, no cap on numbers - so anyone arriving with more than one dog or a large breed should confirm the details directly. And this is a guest room in a family home rather than a self-contained cottage, so a dog that cannot be left alone quietly will need to go out with you.

Best suited to couples touring central Scotland with one or two settled dogs who would rather stay somewhere with a host than a chain hotel on a ring road. On that basis it earns a 4.6/5 paw rating.