The Art Bank

The Art Bank is a converted Victorian bank on Dalbeattie high street, run as a small bed and breakfast where every room is decorated around a different artist. It is emphatically a dog household. Guests arriving with a dog are met with a pet pack of bowl, blanket and towel, and the welcome that dog owners describe is warm to the point of indulgent, with treats and attention going the dog's way before the luggage is in.

The owners keep their own dogs on the premises, and that is the thing to weigh up rather than a drawback. For a sociable dog it is a friendly house to arrive in, and the resident dogs are thoroughly used to visitors. For a dog that would rather not meet others, or for anyone in the party who is uneasy around dogs, it is worth asking before booking, because the house makes no attempt to keep them apart.

Breakfast is the other thing everyone mentions, and it is not modest: a full Scottish cooked breakfast with a wide choice, served generously enough that guests describe skipping lunch afterwards. The rooms are comfortable, characterful and clean, with tea trays, bottled water and biscuits, and one is family-sized with three beds. Some rooms share a bathroom, though an en-suite option exists, so ask when you book if that matters to you.

Dalbeattie is a working Galloway town rather than a tourist one, which suits some travellers and not others. A shop, a couple of pubs, a well-regarded hotel restaurant and several takeaways are all within a few yards. Parking is on-street outside, which is usually fine but not guaranteed. The position works as a base for the Solway coast, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright and the forest trails around the town, with plenty of open ground for walks.

Best suited to a sociable dog and owners who want a proper cooked breakfast, a characterful room and a quiet small-town base for exploring Dumfries and Galloway.