Easter Urray Farmhouse

Easter Urray Farmhouse is a large stone farmhouse in its own grounds outside Muir of Ord, a few miles west of Inverness, and it is one of those properties where the dog arguably gets the better end of the deal. The house sleeps six across three ensuite double bedrooms, sits next to a working farm, and comes with a garden big enough for a couple of dogs to run themselves tired without ever leaving the property.

Up to two pets are allowed per booking. Beyond that the welcome is practical rather than packaged: an enormous utility room off the kitchen that swallows muddy paws, boots and wet coats, wood-burning stoves to dry things by, and woodland walks that start more or less at the door. Guests travelling with dogs consistently single out the garden and the surrounding woodland as the reason they booked and the reason they would return.

The owner is close at hand and meets guests on arrival, and the general read is of someone who is around if you need something and out of the way if you do not. A welcome basket with wine, cheese and crackers turns up often enough in feedback to look like standard practice rather than a one-off.

Two caveats are worth weighing. The access is a long, potholed track, which is manageable in a normal car taken slowly but is not somewhere to arrive late at night for the first time. And housekeeping is the property's weak spot: dog hair left on the sofas between changeovers has been raised by guests, along with tired mattresses, worn sitting-room furniture and no mid-stay linen change on a fortnight's booking. None of that is a reason to rule the house out with a dog, and if anything the hair confirms dogs really do get the run of the sitting room, but anyone who wants a spotless arrival should set expectations accordingly.

At 4.6/5 for paws, Easter Urray suits a family or a group bringing one or two dogs who want space, a fire and Highland walking within half an hour of Inverness, and who will not mind running the hoover round before they settle in.