The Old Forge Bed and Breakfast

The Old Forge is a converted forge in the hamlet of Lower Wraxall, deep in the West Dorset countryside about twenty minutes north-west of Dorchester, with a ford in the lane outside and the coast a quarter of an hour further on. It is a small, owner-run bed and breakfast where the welcome and the breakfast do most of the talking, and dog owners get an enclosed garden to make use of.

That garden is the detail that matters most here. A properly fenced outdoor space is rarer than it should be in a country B&B, and it means a dog can potter about while you sit in the bay window over breakfast rather than being taken up the lane every time. The lanes around the hamlet are quiet enough for a walk straight from the door, Maiden Newton and the Frome valley are a few minutes away, and the Dorset coast is a fifteen to twenty minute drive south.

The property publishes no pet terms on its booking listing - no fee, no weight limit, no cap on numbers and nothing on where dogs may go indoors - so settle the details with the hosts when you book, particularly with a large dog or more than one. This is a small house, and what suits one dog will not automatically be on offer for three.

Two practical points, neither of them about the dog. The hosts warn that satnav can be unreliable for the last stretch, so take directions before you set off and expect narrow lanes on the approach. And the in-room television is fiddly to work and comes without instructions, which is no great loss on a stay built around country walks and a long breakfast.

Best suited to dog owners after a quiet, high-quality rural bed and breakfast with a garden the dog can use and walks from the door, and who are happy to confirm the pet arrangements directly rather than read them off a listing.