Quiet Waters Cottage

Quiet Waters Cottage is a spacious self-catering house a few miles outside Coleraine, close enough to the Causeway coast to make Portstewart, Mussenden Temple and the north Antrim beaches easy day trips, and it reads as a genuinely dog-shaped holiday base. The garden at the back is the feature dog owners keep returning to - enclosed, with a decked outdoor cabin, a barbecue and a fire pit, so evenings can be spent outside with the dog rather than shut indoors.

The owners live next door, and guests travelling with dogs describe them as attentive without being intrusive: communication before arrival is good, and problems get dealt with quickly. The house itself draws consistent praise for space and cleanliness - room for a large party, a well-equipped kitchen, good-sized bedrooms - which counts for more than it sounds when a wet dog comes back in from the coast.

Walking is the other draw. Mount Sandel, on the Bann just south of Coleraine, comes up repeatedly as a short, easy walk within reach of the cottage, and the beaches are a short drive for longer days out.

One thing to settle before you book. The booking listing caps the party at one well-behaved dog, yet several guests describe arriving with two, so the published rule and what happens in practice do not match. Agree numbers with the owner directly rather than turning up and hoping. No pet fee is published either, which is not the same as there being none.

Best suited to a larger group or family with one or two well-behaved dogs who want a comfortable, quiet base for the Causeway coast rather than somewhere in the middle of it.