Cosy Cottage by the Farmers Arms, Deerhurst

Cosy Cottage sits right beside the Farmers Arms, a dog-friendly country pub at Lower Apperley near Deerhurst in Gloucestershire, and that pairing is really the whole appeal for anyone travelling with a dog. Step out of the cottage and you are a few yards from a warm, welcoming pub that serves good food and lets dogs in, with rural lanes and tracks for walks close by. It works especially well as a comfortable, dog-friendly stopover for anyone breaking a longer journey along the M5 corridor.

The cottage itself is small, warm and full of character, with a genuinely comfortable bed that guests single out time and again. It suits a couple or a small family for a night or two, and check-in is simple with a keysafe. The hosts get a lot of praise for being friendly and accommodating, and one guest was even joined by the owner and her dog on a walk.

Dogs settle in easily here. Several guests note their dog was more relaxed than in a busy hotel, and the location gives quick access to good walking. The nearby towns of Tewkesbury, Gloucester and Cheltenham, plus the Forest of Dean, are all within easy reach for days out.

There are some honest caveats worth knowing before you book. There is no enclosed garden, so this is not the place if you need a secure space to let a dog out off-lead. The cottage is compact with low ceilings in places, which suits short stays better than long ones, and it sits close to the road, so light sleepers may notice some traffic noise. As a dog-friendly let, the odd guest has also mentioned residual pet hair.

Cosy Cottage suits couples and small families with a dog who want a characterful, low-cost base built around a genuinely dog-friendly pub, and it is ideal as an overnight stop rather than a week-long holiday home. If a secure garden is a must-have, look elsewhere, but for pub-on-the-doorstep convenience it is hard to beat.