Shephards Retreat, Charlton Mackrell

Shephards Retreat is a self-contained coach house in the grounds of a family home at Charlton Mackrell, a quiet Somerset village a couple of miles from Somerton, and it does the small things for dogs very well. Every arrival gets a welcome basket - homemade bread, eggs from the owners' hens, milk, butter and cereal - and there is a bag of biscuits in it for the dog, which guests mention almost without exception.

The practical case for bringing a dog here is the walking. Footpaths start within a few metres of the door and there is a dog bin at the entrance to them, which makes the first walk of the day a two-minute affair rather than a drive. Beyond that the apartment sits centrally for Somerset, with Glastonbury, Somerton, the Levels and the Dorset border all short drives away, and guests routinely take it for a week and use it as a base.

The setting is a smallholding as much as a garden, and this is the part to think through. The owners keep their own dogs, a cat and free-ranging chickens on the property. Most guests write about this warmly, and several describe their dog happily playing with the owners' dogs, but it does mean a dog that chases birds or reacts badly to other dogs will need managing from the car door onwards. The booking is limited to one well-behaved dog, so it is not a place for a pack in any case.

Inside, the accommodation is modern, spotless and thoroughly equipped, with a king-size bed, a proper kitchen and a garage underneath that guests have used to store bikes. The only recurring gripe is the wifi, which can be slow, as rural wifi often is. Nothing in the pet dimension draws a complaint at all, and Shephards Retreat earns a 4.8/5 paw rating on the strength of it. Best suited to a couple with one steady, sociable dog who want quiet countryside, good bread and walks that start at the door.