Merrifield House, Churchstow

Merrifield House is a guest house at Churchstow, a couple of miles from Kingsbridge in the South Hams, and it is one of the more thoughtfully dog-minded places to stay in this part of Devon. Guests travelling with dogs consistently describe arriving to find a dog bed, bowls, a towel and treats already set out. The house charges a dog supplement of £25 per dog per stay for that, rising to £50 if the dog is not declared before arrival, so book the dog in when you book the room. It earns a 4.7/5 paw rating.

The owners run the place as a home rather than a hotel, and that shapes the stay. Rooms have private bathrooms while the kitchen is shared, there are fields and a garden to walk in, and a separate snug with tea and coffee doubles as an evening sitting room. Housekeeping draws unusually consistent praise, and the hosts are generous with advice on where to go locally with a dog.

The setting is the other draw. Churchstow sits between Kingsbridge and the coast, so Salcombe, Bantham and the South West Coast Path are all short drives, with dog-friendly stretches of shoreline nearby, though the popular beaches carry summer dog restrictions.

Worth knowing: this is a shared house. A reactive dog that barks at unfamiliar footsteps will find it harder work than a self-catering cottage would be, and guests have noted that internal doors carry sound between rooms. There is no enclosed private garden attached to a room, so outside time is supervised rather than off-lead.

Best suited to one or two people with a sociable, settled dog who want a well-kept base for the South Hams and do not need a private kitchen or a garden of their own.