Old Sorting Office

The Old Sorting Office is a self-contained cottage tucked behind a shopfront in the middle of Winchcombe, reached down its own passage, and it is one of the better-judged dog stays in the north Cotswolds. What guests with dogs notice first is how clean it is - people who habitually pack throws to protect the furniture report not needing them, and not needing to buy cleaning products on arrival either. A dog bed and treats are left out ready, which sets the tone for the rest of the stay.

Winchcombe is a good town to be on foot in with a dog. The Cotswold Way runs through it, so proper walks start at the door rather than at a trailhead, and there are pubs, a museum and a farm shop within a few minutes' walk - the pub four doors along is the obvious first stop. Parking is off-site rather than at the property, in a town car park at around a pound a day, which guests have found less of a nuisance than it sounds.

One thing genuinely needs flagging. The garden is shared rather than private, and it is not fully secure: guests have found the outside gate standing open onto a busy road while their dog was loose out there. If your dog will not reliably stay put, treat the garden as an on-lead space and check the gate every time you go out. The artificial lawn also gets grubby and would benefit from being hosed down more often. Neither point stops the place working - it just means the garden is not the safe run it looks like.

Beyond that the complaints are small: consumables such as toilet roll, kitchen roll and cleaning products have been left short, and the bathroom still has a bath where a walk-in shower would suit muddy legs better. For a couple with one well-behaved dog using Winchcombe as a base for the Cotswold Way and the villages around it, the Old Sorting Office is a comfortable, notably clean choice and earns a 4.5 out of 5 paw rating.