Pollard Cottage, Kirkby Fleetham

Pollard Cottage is in the middle of Kirkby Fleetham, a quiet North Yorkshire village between Northallerton and Richmond, and its two best features for dog owners are an enclosed back yard and a pub next door. The garden is secure enough to let a dog out into unsupervised, and the owners make a field available for walks, which between them cover most of what a dog needs across a short break.

The cottage takes up to two pets. Visitors travelling with theirs describe an easy, settled sort of stay: warm, well equipped, comfortable, with a log burner and a television in the bedroom. A key safe means you can come and go without worrying about keys on a walk. The pub next door comes up in almost every review, and being able to eat well without getting back in the car is worth more than it sounds when you are travelling with a dog.

The village itself is quiet and friendly, and the location works as a base for both the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, each within reach by car. The A1 is close enough to make it an easy stopping point on a longer journey north.

It is not flawless. The shower has little pressure, the bed springs squeak, and the living room furniture is dated and not quite what the photographs suggest. The log burner has been found with the previous guests' ashes still in it. The courtyard has no shade, which is worth planning around in summer if your dog feels the heat. None of that has stopped guests saying they would return.

For a couple travelling with one dog who want a village base, a secure yard and a good pub within walking distance, Pollard Cottage does the job well and earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.