Waterloo Cottage, Barnard Castle

Waterloo Cottage is a small stone cottage in a yard just off the main street in Barnard Castle, and for a dog it is about as convenient a base as County Durham offers. The town centre is a couple of minutes on foot, the castle ruins and the riverside path down to the Tees are barely further, and Teesdale opens out from there into some of the best walking in the north of England.

The feature dog owners come back to is the enclosed back yard. It is walled, with outdoor seating, so a dog can be let out off the lead first thing without anyone getting dressed, and there is room enough in it for two. Being a whole house rather than a room in a building also means no shared corridors, no lift and no stairwell to negotiate with a wet dog after a day on the moors.

Barnard Castle itself does a lot of the work. Dog owners consistently describe a town where the pubs, cafes and shops take dogs as a matter of course and where locals make a fuss of them, which turns an evening out into something you do not have to plan around the dog. Inside, the cottage is warm once the heating is on, the beds draw repeated praise, and there is a large bath, which is useful after a muddy walk.

The one practical point is parking. There is no space directly outside, but a public car park is a couple of minutes' walk away and costs very little across a multi-day stay, so it is an inconvenience on arrival rather than an ongoing problem. The yard is paved rather than grassed, which suits some dogs better than others.

Best suited to a couple or a family with one or two dogs who want to walk Teesdale by day and eat out in town by evening, without leaving the dog behind for either.