Priory House, Goodleigh

Priory House is a large country house at Snapper, a hamlet in the parish of Goodleigh a few miles east of Barnstaple, and it is built for the kind of trip where several families and their dogs arrive at once. Parties have brought four dogs alongside a dozen adults and small children without the house feeling crowded, and there is a woodland walk at the bottom of the garden where dogs can come off the lead.

The house sleeps anywhere between six and twenty across generous rooms, with a games room, a cinema room, snooker and enough indoor space to absorb a wet North Devon afternoon. Outside there is a pizza oven, a fire pit, a barbecue and sun loungers in grounds guests describe as stunning, and the owner answers questions quickly before and during a stay.

The caveat concerns containment, and dog-owning guests raise it consistently. The grounds are not enclosed. The drive runs from the garden to the road with nothing to stop a dog following it, so dogs need to be on leads in the garden, and the barbecue terrace in particular would be transformed by a fence and a gate. One party booked on the strength of a listing photograph showing a private field and found it overgrown and unusable, which made the week harder work than they had planned for. If your dog is an escape artist, ask about this directly before you book.

Best suited to a large family or a group of friends with steady, lead-trained dogs who want space, a games room and North Devon walks, and who will not be relying on the garden to hold a dog on its own.