Wilderness Lodge, Weston Rhyn

Wilderness Lodge sits on its own above Weston Rhyn, on the Shropshire side of the Welsh border near Chirk, and it is about as private as a dog-friendly stay gets. There are no neighbours to speak of, nothing shared with anyone else, horses and other animals in the fields around it and long views from the decking. Guests travelling with dogs describe letting them potter in and out all day, which is the point of a place like this.

Dogs are welcome and no fee is published, so confirm that with the owner when you book. The lodge is set up for them to a degree: there is a garden area dogs can use, and the blankets in the basket are meant for dogs rather than people, which is worth knowing before you wrap one round yourself on the decking.

The garden needs a caveat. It is described as enclosed and several guests have valued it, but others have found gaps a determined dog can get through and have had to block them off themselves, so walk the boundary before you let an escape artist off the lead.

Getting there is part of the deal. The lanes are narrow with few passing places, the property is not signed or lit, which makes a first arrival in the dark genuinely tricky, and there is a steep hill up from the parking space to the lodge. That is fine for a fit dog and hard work with an old one, or with a week's shopping.

The other thing to weigh is cleanliness, which is where reviews are least consistent. Guests who do not travel with dogs have reported dog hair on the floors and a doggy smell on one of the sofas, and the decking has loose and damaged boards that need watching. If you are arriving with your own dog none of that will trouble you much; if anyone in your party is sensitive to it, it is worth knowing in advance.

Best suited to owners of hardy, outdoor dogs who want somewhere genuinely remote and private, and who do not mind a steep path, an unlit lane and a lodge that feels lived in rather than hotel-clean.