Romantic Cotswold Cottage, Winchcombe

Romantic Cottage sits on Castle Street in Winchcombe, on the northern edge of the Cotswolds, and it suits a walking holiday with a dog particularly well. It is a self-catering house rather than a hotel, so there are no shared corridors or lobbies to negotiate: two en-suite bedrooms, private parking for two cars, and self check-in from a key box on the porch. The downstairs is largely hard-floored, which matters more than it sounds when you come back off the hills with a wet dog.

The pet charge is £55 per pet, per stay. It is levied by the letting agent to cover carpet cleaning between guests rather than shown alongside the nightly rate on the booking listing, and dog owners have flagged more than once that it can arrive as a surprise at the payment stage, so budget for it up front. Adding a dog to a booking is otherwise straightforward and the process gets consistently good marks.

The walking is the real draw. Winchcombe sits on the Cotswold Way and dog owners repeatedly single out how many routes start within a few minutes of the door, with Sudeley Castle a ten-minute stroll away and a spread of villages an easy drive off. The town has pubs and takeaways within walking distance, so there is no need to leave a dog alone while you drive out for dinner.

Two things are worth going in knowing. Guests have reported a strong ammonia smell in the downstairs living area, traced to the ageing sofa, and it has come up across separate stays often enough to count as a pattern rather than a one-off. Check-out is also at 10am, which makes a Sunday departure a rush in a self-catering house where you are washing up and packing before you go. Neither is a reason to look elsewhere, and the cottage earns its 4.4/5 paw rating, but a dog owner sensitive to smells should ask about the sofa before booking.