Twattleton Cottage, Kilburn

Twattleton Cottage sits just outside Kilburn, on the southern edge of the North York Moors, and it is the kind of stone cottage that suits a dog holiday almost by accident: solid floors, a log burner, and open countryside starting where the lane ends. Dogs are welcome as standard, and guests who bring them rate the stay highly, giving the cottage a 4.8/5 paw rating.

The welcome is the informal, well-thought-out sort you get from an owner-run property rather than a chain. Arrivals are met with an information folder and a cupboard stocked with the basics, and dogs are treated as ordinary members of the party. Repeat visits are common among dog owners, which tends to be the most reliable signal there is.

Walking is the reason to come. The cottage is close to the Kilburn White Horse and the escarpment at Sutton Bank, with bridleways, forestry tracks and field paths running in most directions, and quieter lanes for shorter evening outings. The village pub is within walking distance and serves food, and York is around half an hour away by car for a day out, though the surrounding villages are worth the time in their own right.

The one thing to plan around is the lack of a garden. There is no enclosed outdoor space attached to the cottage, so dogs need a lead from the front door and there is nowhere to let them out unsupervised late at night. Guests who knew this in advance did not mind; it is only a problem if you were counting on it. The owners also keep a cat, which visitors seldom see, but it is worth knowing if your dog reacts badly to them.

Best suited to walkers with lead-trained dogs who want a warm, characterful base with the moors on the doorstep, and who are happy to do without a fenced garden.