The Banditry, Glastonbury

The Banditry is a self-contained studio apartment on Old Wells Road, on the northern edge of Glastonbury, with private parking outside the door. For anyone arriving with a dog that last detail does more work than it sounds like: the unit is entered straight from the parking rather than through a shared hallway, so there is no lobby to negotiate at the end of a long drive.

The welcome is what guests travelling with dogs come back to most often. Bowls, treats and poo bags are left out for visiting dogs, and the rest of the apartment is described as thought through to the same level, with local recommendations written up for guests and a kitchen equipped well beyond studio standard. Owners who put dog bowls out before you arrive tend to be owners who have genuinely decided to take dogs, and the reviews read that way.

The caveat is worth weighing honestly. This is a compact studio on a main road, and there is no real outdoor space for a dog beyond the parking area - guests bringing one have called it adequate rather than generous. A dog who needs a secure space to be let out into last thing at night is better served elsewhere. The town centre is a walk of somewhere between fifteen and thirty minutes depending on pace and destination, and several parties chose to drive in instead. Street lighting outside is bright enough that guests suggest an eye mask, although double blinds are fitted.

What the location does give you is everything beyond the street. The Tor, the Somerset Levels and Wells are all within easy reach and offer far better walking than the immediate roadside does, which makes the car less of a compromise than it first appears.

It suits dog owners who want an immaculate, well-run base for exploring Glastonbury and the Levels and are content to walk or drive to their dog's exercise, rather than those who need a secure garden attached to the door.