Rowan Retreat, Renwick

Rowan Retreat is an off-grid shepherd's hut on rewilded land at Renwick, out on the western edge of the North Pennines and roughly nine miles north-east of Penrith. It comes with its own field, and that single fact is why it works so well for dogs: there is enclosed ground to let one off in without meeting another soul, and the lanes and fell tracks around the village take over from there.

Guests travelling with dogs are consistently enthusiastic about it. The words that recur are quiet, grounded and quirky, with sculptures dotted about the land, birds and insects everywhere and genuinely dark skies at night. The host is repeatedly described as generous and helpful. It is the kind of place people book for a night or two and then talk about for a long time afterwards.

Be clear about what off-grid means here, because it is the whole character of the stay rather than a footnote. The hut is a single room. The toilet is a composting one and the shower sits in a separate block a short walk down the path, fed by rainwater and heated by gas. There is no wifi and no television. Access involves steep steps, and guests who are unsteady on their feet have found them genuinely difficult, which is worth thinking about for an older dog as well as for people.

Nothing about pet fees, dog numbers or size limits is published for the hut, so agree those with the host when you book.

Best suited to one or two people with a dog who actively want the camping end of the spectrum with a proper bed at the end of it, and who will treat a night without running water indoors as the point rather than the problem. On that basis it earns its 4.6/5.