Shepherd's Barn, Milborne

Shepherd's Barn sits in the middle of a working farm at Milborne St Andrew, in the rolling country between Blandford Forum and Dorchester, and the walking starts at the door. There is an enclosed garden and then open farmland beyond it, so the first outing of the day happens in slippers rather than in the car. Guests come back year after year, several for the better part of a decade, and most of them bring a dog.

Two pets are welcome per booking. The layout is upside down, with the living space upstairs behind a big window that frames the fields, and the garden below is a large grassed area with a patio, table and chairs and a brick barbecue. Dog owners talk about the freedom of that garden and the walks around the farm tracks more than anything else, and the barn is described as spotless on arrival every time, which is the practical thing that matters after a day in Dorset mud. Milk and a cake are usually waiting when you get in.

The farm is the appeal and also the thing to think about. Sheep and lambs graze right up to the garden boundary, so a dog that chases will need to be under close control outdoors. Summer brings flies, as it does on any farm. Reviews also mention being woken early by a dog barking from the farm's staff caravans, and large house spiders turning up indoors, so this is a genuinely rural stay rather than a sanitised one.

For getting about, Blandford Forum, Dorchester and the Jurassic Coast are all an easy drive, a supermarket is about ten minutes away, and Dorchester has vets and pet supplies if anything goes wrong mid-holiday. It suits people who want a quiet farm bolthole, have steady dogs and no interest in nightlife, and it earns a 4.8/5 paw rating.