Stable View Cottage, Clitheroe

Stable View Cottage sits on a working farm and livery yard at Bolton-by-Bowland, deep in the Ribble Valley, and it is set up for dogs in the way only a farm cottage can be. The cottage has its own walled courtyard garden with a private hot tub, and the owners let guests use the farm's own fields to give a dog a proper run before breakfast. It earns a 4.8/5 paw rating.

The disclosed policy is one well-behaved dog. Nothing on the booking listing flags a pet supplement, so it is worth confirming the current terms with the owners when you book, particularly if you are hoping to bring a second dog.

Guests travelling with dogs come back to the same three things: the courtyard, the fields and the owners. The garden means a dog can potter about while you are in the hot tub rather than being shut indoors; the fields mean you do not have to get back in the car on arrival day; and the hosts, who live next door, hand over walk suggestions along with a welcome pack of milk, farm eggs and biscuits. Hard floors and a log burner make wet-dog days easy to manage.

The setting is genuinely rural, with sheep, horses and the odd Shetland pony for company, and the village is a 10 to 15 minute walk. There are dog-friendly pubs within a few minutes' drive and in the village itself, and Pendle Hill, Skipton and Clitheroe are all easy days out.

Two things to know before you arrive. The courtyard gate is not tight enough to hold a determined small dog, so check it before letting a puppy or a terrier loose. And the approach is a real farmyard rather than a holiday-park entrance: horseboxes and farm vehicles often obscure the parking area, and the resident farm dog tends to run out barking at cars, which can unsettle a nervous dog on arrival.

Best suited to a couple, or a couple with a toddler, travelling with one steady dog who will enjoy a week of fields, footpaths and a warm courtyard to come back to.