White Anchor Anglesey

White Anchor is a large self-catering house in Newborough, on the south-west corner of Anglesey, a short hop from the forest and the beach at Llanddwyn, and it is set up for the kind of trip where several people and several dogs arrive at once. Parties travelling with three dogs report no friction in bringing them, which is the single most useful thing to know about a house this size.

The location does most of the work. Newborough Forest and its beach are minutes away, with miles of pine tracks and a long stretch of sand that guests with dogs rate highly for proper off-lead exercise. The village itself has a well stocked shop within yards of the door, plus a pub, a tapas restaurant and a chip shop, so a wet afternoon does not have to mean a drive.

Inside, the house is spacious and recently decorated, with a games room holding a pool table and table tennis that groups hire and use heavily, three bathrooms, and enough separate reception rooms for a large party to spread out. The owners come across as helpful and easy to reach. The outdoor space is good and gets used by dogs, and the patio is a genuine draw in decent weather.

Two caveats matter if you are bringing a dog. The garden is not secure, which parties travelling with more than one dog have flagged as the change that would most improve the stay, so a dog that will not stay put needs supervising or a long line rather than the run of the plot. And the dog bowl and blanket advertised with the property have not always been in place on arrival, so pack your own. The other gripes are domestic rather than canine: kitchen equipment is thinner than the size of the house suggests, there is no dishwasher, and the garden furniture is tired.

It earns a 4.4/5 paw rating and suits larger groups and multi-generational parties bringing more than one dog, who want forest and beach walking on the doorstep and will keep half an eye on the garden gate.