Original Roadsmans Wagon, Longhope

The Original Roadsmans Wagon is a restored horse-drawn wagon on May Hill Farm, a working riding centre in the Forest of Dean above Longhope. It sleeps two, and dogs are part of the fabric of the place rather than an exception to it: the farm has a safe enclosed field guests can use to let a dog run off some energy, the owners keep their own dogs on site, and the footpaths start at the gate.

The wagon is deliberately off-grid and rustic. There is a shared building housing the bathroom, kitchen, dining room and a self-service bar with a wood burner, which is where guests tend to spend their evenings, and the long views from the hillside are the reason most people book. Deer, horses, house martins and bats are all part of the experience. Access from the parking area is easy, which helps when you are carrying a dog bed and a week's food.

The caveat is a serious one and it is specifically a dog caveat. The wagon has no insulation and no heating a guest can operate - there is a heater inside, but it is not connected and the owners keep it for the winter months - and in a driving cold wind the inside of the wagon can end up colder than the sheltered air outside. In those conditions a dog has been left shivering, with the owners unreachable by phone or message and the heater refused when the request was made in person. Other guests describe the wagon as cosy in spite of the lack of heating, so the outcome plainly depends on the weather you draw, but a short-coated or elderly dog needs bedding and rugs packed for the worst case.

Best suited to warm-weather stays with a hardy dog, for people who want a genuinely rural farm base with a secure field, and who are relaxed about a shared bathroom and a finish that is tired in places. It earns a 3.9/5 paw rating.