The Haybarn, Bradenham

The Haybarn is a barn conversion in Bradenham, a small village in the Breckland countryside west of Dereham, and the welcome it gives dogs is what guests lead with. Arrivals have found the heating and outside lights already on, a tea tray waiting and milk in the fridge, with the greeting extended to the dogs as much as to the people. Inside it is homely rather than minimal - heavy furniture, pictures and ornaments, towels on the beds and cloths left out in the kitchen.

The practical detail that matters most sits just outside the front door: a decked, covered area where a dog can be let out on a lead for a last toilet trip at night without anyone changing into outdoor shoes or getting wet. The grounds are genuinely pretty, with a stream running through and a gated bridge at the far end. What the site does not have is a private enclosed space where a dog can be let off the lead, and guests have been clear about that. It is the main thing to weigh if your dog needs unsupervised garden time.

Two well-behaved dogs are welcome, at £10 per dog per week, and guests are asked to bring their dogs' own bedding. Parties arriving with a pair are catered for rather than merely tolerated, so a second dog is no obstacle here. The garden has an unfenced stream and a large pond running through it, which is worth knowing before you let a dog out of your sight.

The Haybarn shares its site with a couple of other letting properties and the owners' own home, and the owner draws warm comment as a host. That proximity has a downside: guests have heard movement from the unit above and found the water system loud when neighbours showered. The surrounding country is good walking - quiet lanes and field paths rather than busy roads. With a 4.5/5 paw rating, The Haybarn suits couples and small families who want a comfortable, homely base in rural Norfolk with one or two dogs along, and who are happy to keep them on a lead in the garden.