Orchard Cottage, Shaftesbury

Orchard Cottage is a one-bedroom conversion on Whitebridge Farm at Semley, a few miles north of Shaftesbury on the Wiltshire side of the county line, and the farm setting is the reason to bring a dog here. There is a large field on site to walk and exercise a dog in, which is genuinely useful when a dog needs space without a drive first, or is not up to a long walk that day.

One pet is allowed per booking, so this is a cottage for a single dog rather than a pair. The owners live on the farm and come across as approachable and welcoming, and fresh eggs left out for arriving guests come up more than once in feedback. Two things are worth knowing before you arrive. The cottage is part of the farm complex rather than a detached private unit, so you are sharing the site with a working farm and a dog that chases livestock will need keeping under control. And guests have been asked to pick up and bag all dog waste on the property - a house rule that is not written on the listing anywhere, so treat it as a condition of the stay.

The cleanliness reports are mixed and it would be dishonest to smooth them over. Alongside guests who found the cottage lovely and the setting delightful, others have reported crumbs left under kitchen equipment, dirt behind furniture, cleaning cloths that had seen better days and a general sense the place had not had a proper clean between stays. Internal doors that will not shut properly and a missing hairdryer come up too. For a dog owner that cuts both ways, but it is the thing to check on arrival.

Best suited to a couple with one dog who want quiet countryside, a field on the doorstep and the chalk downland walking around Shaftesbury and the Nadder valley, and who will take the working farm as part of the appeal rather than a surprise. It carries a 4.4/5 paw rating.