Cheshire View, Ellesmere

Cheshire View is a small collection of glamping pods on a hillside at Birch Hill, just outside Ellesmere in north Shropshire. Despite the name it sits on the Shropshire side of the border, looking out across the plain towards Cheshire. It is a quiet, low-key spot built around the view, and it works well for dogs: open countryside on the doorstep, no corridors or shared indoor space to negotiate, and hosts who clearly like having dogs around.

The welcome is the part guests keep returning to. There are two resident dogs on site who wander about, come over to say hello and generally make friends with whoever has just arrived, and visiting dogs tend to be treated as part of the party rather than tolerated. That is lovely if your dog is sociable and worth thinking about if they are not - a reactive dog will meet the house dogs sooner or later, so flag it to the hosts when you book. One dog per pod is the standing rule and the booking system takes a single pet per reservation, though a second animal can be permitted by prior arrangement, so ask rather than assume. A charge of £20 per pet, per stay applies.

Practically, the pods are compact but properly equipped: a comfortable bed, a good shower with plenty of hot water, decent wifi, and tea, coffee and biscuits laid on. There is a privately fenced garden, which is the piece that makes the difference last thing at night. The hosts are the sort who will find you an electric fan in a heatwave. The setting is genuinely peaceful, and the walking around Ellesmere and its meres is easy and flat, which suits dogs who are past long hill days. Ellesmere itself is a couple of minutes away for supplies.

There is not much to hold against it. Space is tight by definition, so a large dog and two people will fill a pod, and heavy rain has produced a small roof drip on at least one stay. Dogs are not to be left unattended in a pod either, so this is not a base for days out that leave the dog behind. Cheshire View earns 4.7/5 for paws: a warm, easy, one-dog retreat with a big view, best suited to a sociable dog and owners who want quiet rather than facilities.