The Dairy, Bicknoller

The Dairy is a thatched cottage on a working family farm at Bicknoller, tucked under the western edge of the Quantock Hills in Somerset. It is the kind of owner-run place where the farm carries on around you: free-range chickens wander the yard, sheep are audible from the fields, and guests are sometimes sent home with eggs. For a dog, the appeal is straightforward. Open countryside starts at the gate, and guests have direct access to fields for walking.

Inside, the cottage is warm and traditional, with tiled floors downstairs that dog owners appreciate for the obvious reason: a wet dog and a tiled floor are a far better combination than a wet dog and a carpet. Guests arriving with pets describe it as genuinely dog-friendly rather than dog-tolerating, and the welcome tray of milk, tea, coffee and biscuits comes up repeatedly.

The caveats are mostly about the farm rather than the cottage. It is not quiet the way a town is quiet: sheep and a cockerel make early mornings early, and four in the morning is not unheard of. The chickens roam freely, which is charming but means a dog with a strong prey drive needs to be under control in the yard. The cottage shares its grounds with other holiday lets, and guests have been unimpressed to find that not everyone picks up after their dog. The furnishings are dated in a way that suits the building, there is a cast-iron bath rather than a conventional shower, and the internet can be slow.

None of that dents a 4.4/5 paw rating. The Dairy suits walkers and dog owners who actively want a farm rather than a countryside-themed cottage, and who will take an early cockerel as part of the deal. Watchet and the Quantock ridge are both close, and the night skies here are dark enough that the stars are one of the reasons guests come.