Beach Road House, Ilfracombe

Beach Road House sits a short walk from the seafront in Ilfracombe, on the North Devon coast, and it is set up as a proper family holiday house rather than a hotel room with a pet box ticked. The shop and the petrol station are on the same road, the beach is about a hundred yards down it, and there is a pub directly across the road - handy on a first evening after a long drive with a dog in the back.

The property takes one pet per booking. No pet charge is published, so agree any supplement with the owner at the time you book rather than on arrival. Because the whole house is yours, there are no shared corridors, no lift and no lobby to steer a lead through, and a dog can pick a spot on the first evening and keep it for the week.

Dog owners who have stayed pick out the practical side: off-street parking with room for a car full of kit, good-quality fittings, and a house that feels looked after rather than hard-wearing and forgotten. The beds get a particular mention. The location then does most of the heavy lifting - Ilfracombe harbour, Capstone Hill and the South West Coast Path are all walkable, and North Devon's wider run of beaches is a short drive on.

One caution matters more here than the usual small print. There is no gate or barrier between the front steps and the driveway, which opens straight onto the road, so the lead goes on before the front door does. Guests have also flagged that the handrail down those steps is on the light side, which is worth knowing if you are carrying a dog or a bag down them.

Beach Road House suits a family with one steady, road-sensible dog who want the beach, the coast path and a pub within walking distance and would rather not get back in the car of an evening. With a puppy or a keen bolter, plan for that open frontage before you arrive. It earns a 4.4/5 paw rating.