The Ploughmans, Balfron

The Ploughmans is a farm cottage outside Balfron in Stirlingshire, on the southern edge of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, and its best feature for a dog is the garden: small, fully enclosed, right outside the door, and picked out again and again by guests travelling with dogs. On a working farm that matters more than it might elsewhere, because the cottage sits at the end of a driveway off a road that carries real traffic through the day. The garden is where a dog can be off the lead safely.

Be clear-eyed about walks, though. Guests with dogs are unanimous on this point: there is very little scope for a walk straight from the cottage, and a car is not optional. It is the one consistent criticism the place attracts. What you get in exchange is a properly quiet base with good ground in every direction once you are driving. The walks along the River Endrick come up repeatedly as a favourite, Drymen is close enough for shops and a decent choice of pubs, and Aberfoyle is about ten minutes away.

The cottage itself is roomy, clean and well equipped, with a spacious living room and views guests rate highly, and the owner is described as hospitable and easy to reach. Guests report that even with building work going on nearby, the setting stayed peaceful.

Two practical notes. The internal doors are a poor fit and neither shut quietly nor lock reliably, which is a nuisance at night in a full house. And the morning water pressure does not stretch to four people showering in quick succession, so stagger it.

Best suited to a couple or a small family with one dog who want a quiet farm base for Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, and who are content to drive to every walk.