Rose Cottage, Brampton

Rose Cottage is a seventeenth-century bolthole attached to a village inn at Cumwhitton, in the Eden Valley south-east of Brampton, and it is set up for dogs in a way plenty of period cottages are not. The feature owners single out is a secure yard, so there is somewhere enclosed to let a dog out off the lead, which is rarer than it should be in this kind of let.

Dogs come up in almost every review of the cottage and always as a straightforward yes. Guests arriving with two report no fuss, and a good number are back for a second or third stay. Reviewers writing about earlier visits describe dogs staying free, but the property now discloses a pet charge of £10 per stay, so budget for it rather than assuming those older reports still hold. Milk, juice and cereal are included, the cottage is well equipped for a short break, and the inn next door serves food that dog owners rate highly and takes dogs itself, so an evening meal does not mean leaving anyone behind. Being minutes from the M6 makes it a popular place to break a long drive north or south.

The building's age brings the main drawback. There is essentially no sound insulation between the cottage and the bar next door, so you hear conversation and chairs moving until closing time. It is quiet enough afterwards, but light sleepers should think carefully. The flip side is that the inn shuts early in the week, which has caught out guests arriving on a Monday or Tuesday expecting dinner.

A faint damp-dog smell on the lower floor has also been mentioned more than once. It is not enough to spoil a stay, and it is more or less the trade-off for a ground floor that genuinely welcomes dogs, but it is worth knowing if you are sensitive to it. The sofa is low and showing its age, and the front door lock is stiff.

Best for couples with one or two dogs who want character, a secure yard and a good kitchen next door, and who do not mind a pub on the other side of the wall. It earns a 4.5 out of 5 paw rating.