Smugglers Cottage, Tintagel

Smugglers Cottage sits a short walk up from Trebarwith Strand on Cornwall's north coast, in the parish of Tintagel, and the clearest signal about it is how many guests come back. Several of the dog owners who have stayed are on their third visit with the same dog, which tells you more about a small cottage than any amount of description.

It is cosy rather than large, and that is the point. Guests describe it as spotlessly clean, comfortable and properly equipped, with a good shower and a washer-dryer, and the whole place is at the right scale for a couple and one dog.

Position is the other draw. Trebarwith Strand is a short walk downhill, with a long tidal beach and the South West Coast Path running along the cliffs in both directions, so you can walk for hours straight from the door. As with most Cornish beaches, check for seasonal dog restrictions before you travel in high summer.

Two things need flagging before you book with a dog. The front door opens straight onto the road, with no hallway or gate in between, so this is not the cottage for a dog that bolts through open doors. Owners who know their dogs are steady have had no trouble, but it is a real consideration. There is also no outdoor seating area, which is clear from the listing but worth registering if you had pictured evenings outside with the dog at your feet.

On the practical side, the Wi-Fi is weak - a Trebarwith problem rather than a Smugglers Cottage one, though guests report it has improved. Parking needs care too: the seven-day rover ticket sold for the local car parks is not valid in the small car park immediately next to the cottage, which has caught people out. And the outside bin is kept locked, so plan where dog waste goes on the way back from the beach.

For a couple with one steady, well-behaved dog who want a proper Cornish coastal base with the beach and the coast path on the doorstep, Smugglers Cottage earns a 4.6/5 paw rating, and the repeat bookings back it up.