Point Cottages, Bamburgh

Point Cottages occupies one of the best positions in Bamburgh, on The Wynding between the castle and the sea, and for a dog it is close to ideal. The beach is a short walk from the door, and the dunes and the long stretch of sand towards Seahouses give you as much walking as any dog could want. The cottages take dogs as standard and earn a 4.5/5 paw rating.

What guests with dogs consistently pick out is the location rather than the fittings. Waking up to the castle on one side and the North Sea on the other, then walking straight onto the beach, is the point of staying here, and it suits sandy, salty dogs that come back needing a rinse rather than a formal outing. The cottages are well equipped for self-catering, with spare bedding and towels, and several parties book again for the following year.

Two practical things are worth settling before you book. The first is cost: a charge per dog per night has come up in guest feedback, and it is not always made clear at the time of booking, so agree the amount directly rather than assuming it is included. The second is outdoor space, which varies from cottage to cottage across the site. Some have a genuinely enclosed yard a dog can be let into safely; at others the garden is only partly enclosed, and shared access means other residents and their dogs pass through the gate, so a dog cannot reliably be left outside alone. Ask which cottage you are being given and what its garden is actually like.

Housekeeping is the other recurring theme. Reports of dog hair left in bedroom carpets, cobwebs and general dust suggest the changeover cleaning is not always thorough, which matters more than usual if anyone in your party is sensitive to animals. Checkout is early, at 9am, and comes up regularly as a gripe.

Best suited to beach walkers who want the castle and the sand on the doorstep, and who will ask the right questions about their particular cottage first.