Derwent Cottage, Keswick

Derwent Cottage is a clean, modern cottage on a quiet close a short walk from the centre of Keswick, and it rates highly with guests: the kitchen is well stocked, the beds are comfortable and it stays warm through a Lake District winter. For dog owners it makes a good base with a specific set of house rules, and those rules are better read before booking than discovered on arrival.

One small dog is welcome, and it must never be left alone in the property. Dogs are also kept to the ground floor, which is not obvious from the listing - guests travelling with a dog have turned up without knowing. If your dog sleeps in your room or follows you upstairs at home, that single detail will decide whether the cottage works for you.

The garden is not enclosed either, and it is the thing dog owners say they would change: there is outdoor space, but nothing to stop a dog wandering off it, so garden trips are lead-on. Set against that, the position is excellent. The shops, pubs and cafes of Keswick are a few minutes on foot, the close itself is quiet in the evening, and Derwentwater, Fitz Park and the walks up Latrigg and out to Castlerigg are all reachable without a long drive.

Everything else points the right way. The cottage is spotless, comfortable and properly equipped for self-catering after a wet day on the fells, and guests with dogs rate the location as highly as everyone else does. Derwent Cottage earns a 4.6/5 paw rating, and it suits a couple or small family with one small, well-behaved dog who is content downstairs and will not be left on its own.