The Little House, Cotherstone

The Little House is exactly what its name suggests: a very small, very well-finished self-catering property in Cotherstone, a stone village in Teesdale on the edge of the north Pennines. It is designed for two people and a dog rather than a crowd, and the compactness is deliberate. Everything is high quality and thought through, from the kitchen kit to the shower to the bed, rather than simply scaled down.

Dogs are welcome for a small charge. The amount is not published on the listing, so agree it when you book; guests who have brought dogs describe it as modest rather than a deterrent. The one thing dog owners say is missing is a treat or two on arrival, which is a fair measure of how little else there is to fault. Milk and eggs are already laid on, and there are books and board games for a wet afternoon.

Cotherstone is a genuinely good dog village. There is a small shop and a cafe in the old chapel that does a well-regarded breakfast, two pubs with one serving food, and walking straight out of the village along the Tees. Barnard Castle is a few minutes away for independent shops, bakeries and cafes, and the wider north Pennines open up from there. Hosting is a strength: guests consistently describe quick, helpful replies, and when a hot water fault came up on one stay it was met with an apology, the offer of a shower in the main house and an extended checkout.

The caveats are mostly about scale and access. The lane to the door is very narrow with a right-angled bend, manageable in a small car and awkward in anything larger, though there is parking on the road nearby. Bathroom cleaning has been flagged more than once, particularly the shower doors and skirting boards. There is no microwave and no real room for one, the blinds let in a lot of early light, and the front door lock is stiff.

The Little House suits a couple with one dog who want a quiet, characterful base for Teesdale walking rather than space or facilities. It earns a 4.5/5 paw rating.