Cotters Cottage, Whithorn

Cotters Cottage sits in open farmland a ten-minute walk from Whithorn, on the Machars peninsula in Dumfries and Galloway, and it is the sort of place where a dog can effectively be off duty for a week. It is a whole-house let with an enclosed garden, no shared corridors and no neighbours to negotiate, which removes most of the friction that comes with taking a dog somewhere new.

Dogs are clearly a normal part of the booking here rather than something tolerated. Guests travelling with pets describe arriving to a warm welcome from the owner, who stays contactable by text through the stay without hovering, and several have brought two dogs without any issue. The garden does the heavy lifting: it is enclosed and big enough for a proper run around, and it comes up again and again as the reason the property works for dogs. The hot tub out in the garden gets the same billing from the humans.

The location suits walkers with dogs particularly well. Whithorn itself has a convenience store, a chip shop and a pub within easy walking distance. The Isle of Whithorn is about three miles away with a harbour pub and coastal paths, and St Ninian's Cave, Garlieston beach and Kirroughtree Forest are all short drives. Newton Stewart, the nearest larger town, is roughly eighteen miles off.

Two things to weigh up. The cottage is comfortable, clean and well equipped rather than sleek or recently refitted, and guests who have stayed in more modern lets have said as much. And the seclusion is genuine, so anything beyond the village needs a car. Up to two dogs are taken and there is no pet charge, which puts it ahead of a lot of coastal lets on cost, though it is still worth asking where dogs are allowed to sleep before you book. For a quiet, self-contained coastal base where the dog gets a garden and the walking starts at the door, it earns a 4.4/5 paw rating.