holidays with dogs

This section isn't intended to replace the dozens of holiday sites on the web. It is merely a personal recommendation for cottages that we've stayed in with our three dogs - two dobermanns and a golden retriever. Quite often we've made a last minute booking to stay somewhere with three large dogs! As well as a cottage big enough for all five of us and an enclosed garden, we generally like somewhere with off street parking, a bath as well as a shower, an open fire/woodburning stove and a washing machine with drying facilities.

Guisachan - the ancestral home of the golden retriever

We had a fabulous week here in the Scottish Highlands. All golden retriever lovers will find this place particularly magical, as it's where the first golden retriever was bred. But anyone with or without dogs would enjoy this lovely old keeper's lodge in a well kept big enclosed garden with fantastic views. The bed was the most comfortable we've ever slept in on any holiday and the lodge sleeps 6-8 people plus dogs. A week wasn't really long enough! The picture shows our three dogs having fun on a deserted beach.

Click on the picture to go to the Guisachan website.

Trearddur Bay, Anglesey, North Wales

Not a holiday as such, but we when we bought a car from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch we decided to stay overnight. I phoned to enquire about B&B at Blackthorn Farm and was delighted to hear that they had a one bedroom cottage which the owners let out by the night, big enough for all five of us. You can see the enclosed garden - which is where we sat eating our breakfast which the owners cooked for us. We didn't have much time for sightseeing but had a couple of walks on the fabulous secluded beaches. Sadly this was to be Roxy's last trip away with us before she succumbed to DCM just three weeks later. Visit www.blackthornfarm.co.uk for further details.

Ballachulish nr Fort William

We also enjoyed our week at this fantastic location near Fort William. Pictured right is Roxy on a beautiful walk just five minutes' walk from the cottage. There's a great fish restaurant on the loch side where you can park right outside to keep an eye on your dogs whilst you're eating. Ben Nevis is a short drive away - fantastic scenery, but we can only comment on the view from the ground as we didn't venture up the mountain!

Click on the picture to go to the Sorcha website.

Laverock Hall, nr Barnard Castle, Co Durham

Friends were rather surprised to hear that we were off to Durham for a week in January! The lure was a week in a cottage with access to an onsite agility arena - 120ft x 40ft with lots of equipment to keep our dogs (and I!) agile. Ellie and I go to fun agility every week, but after a week's stay at this great venue (including an hour's tuition with the owner) we improved our skills no end. The picture shows us on a visit to Cow Green Reservoir possibly the quietest place I've ever visited. Needless to say not much swimming was done on this cold snowy day!

Fairford, nr Cirencester

The Cotswolds provided the setting for this lovely weekend away. We stayed in an annexe to the owners' home, which was plenty big enough for the dogs with a fully enclosed garden. We just needed to walk across the road and down a small path to get to a fabulous circular walk (pictured right). The lake is fenced off so we didn't need to worry about taking wet muddy dogs back indoors with us! Plenty of picturesque villages around, but our favourite is Bourton on the Water, where we'd visited some years ago with one of our dobermanns and our lovely late flatcoated retriever who amused the tourists by having a thoroughly enjoyable paddle, as flatcoats are inclined to do!