Park View, Windermere

Park View is a compact ground-floor apartment in the middle of Bowness-on-Windermere, and it has become a reliable favourite for couples travelling with a small dog. It holds a 4.7 out of 5 paw rating across a large pool of dog-owning guests, many of them repeat visitors on their third or fourth stay, which is about as good a signal as a small self-catering flat can give you.

The draw is the combination of a private enclosed outdoor space and a town-centre position. The garden is small and gravelled rather than grassy, and mature trees keep it shaded, but it is genuinely enclosed and safe, which is a rarity for a flat this central. Guests also single out the dedicated parking space by the door, valuable in Bowness where parking is otherwise a headache, and a welcome pack that regularly includes wine, biscuits or cake. The property takes one well behaved dog per booking.

Location does the rest. The centre of Bowness, the lake and several dog-friendly pubs are a few minutes on foot, with The Albert and The Royal Oak the two named most often, and lakeside and fell walks start close enough that plenty of guests leave the car parked all week.

The caveats are all about size and setting. This is a converted garage, and it is more studio than one-bedroom: the sleeping area is partitioned off rather than a separate room, the bed is a small double, and natural light is limited. Traffic noise from the nearby main road comes up too. The apartment suits one couple and one small dog; there is not the floor space for a large or boisterous breed to settle comfortably, and guests have said as much. The front door also opens straight onto pale carpet, which makes drying a wet dog and getting muddy boots off awkward, so bring a towel and an old mat.

For a clean, well-placed and genuinely dog-friendly base for a lakeside break with a small dog, Park View earns its rating, provided you go in expecting a compact space.