1 Beechcroft Cottage, Seahouses

1 Beechcroft Cottage is a village house right in the middle of Seahouses, and for anyone bringing a dog to the Northumberland coast the useful thing about it is the yard. It is fully enclosed at the back, which guests with dogs single out again and again, and it is the detail that sets this one apart from most of the rentals on the same streets - visitors point out that plenty of properties nearby have no outdoor space of that kind at all. You can open the back door, let the dog out and not think about it.

The location does the rest. The harbour, the shops and the beach are all a couple of minutes on foot, so the first walk of the day needs no car, and the long sands towards Beadnell and Bamburgh are a few minutes up the coast road. Private parking comes with the house, which counts for more than it sounds in a village that fills up through the summer, and it means the car is there when you want a bigger walk.

Inside, it is a proper holiday house rather than a stripped-back let: a log burner with fuel provided, comfortable beds, a well-equipped kitchen and a welcome pack on arrival. Guests describe it as spotlessly clean and well presented, and the owners and cleaning team come in for repeated praise, including unprompted touches for parties marking a special occasion. Seahouses itself is somewhere several visitors say they come back to year after year.

There is very little to warn about. The gardens have occasionally needed a tidy, and that is about the extent of it. The pet terms are unusually generous: dogs stay free, and up to three are accepted, so a household travelling with a pair has no supplement to budget for. For a couple or a family who want the beach, the harbour and the village pubs within walking distance, and a secure yard to come back to, 1 Beechcroft Cottage earns 4.6 out of 5 paws.