These three sweethearts are Bailey, Ember and Bandit, and they’re part of our Canine Critics 2021 team, having joined us when they won their category ‘The Pack’.
Their Instagram account @the_country_pups is filled with atmospheric shots of their explorations; we knew the moment we saw it these three would do a fantastic job as members of our Critics crew.
Bailey, Ember and Bandit have already written up one wonderful review detailing their holiday to Devon – read all about their Tiverton trip here. And on their latest break, they have ventured even deeper into the South West and into the heart of good ol’ Cornwall.
With walks, swims and even pooch wine tasting, this break to Valley Cottage near Padstow sounds like one holiday to remember. Find out what they got up to on their travels below or click the button and enter to become a Canine Critic today.
Canine Critics' review of Valley Cottage
Despite having been to Cornwall many, many times, Valley Cottage is located in an area that we hadn’t really explored before. However, as soon as we drove through the small village of Nanstallon and down the country road towards the cottage, we knew it was somewhere we would definitely be coming back to.
The area
The first thing that hit us was the stunning scenery that looked down towards the River Camel, the sound of peace and nature and all the smells a dog could ever wish for. Can you imagine our excitement when our owners entered the cottage and read in the information book that the cottage owners have acres upon acres of the land that sits outside the front door, and that there were beautifully well-kept private routes down by the river that lead to an 18-mile walk along the Camel Trail?! We knew we were on our holidays now, and then endless walkies were guaranteed!
The location was just perfect for us - as I already mentioned, the sheer amount of walkies that are accessible straight from the front door is just AMAZING! But not just that, some of our Cornish faves of Padstow, Rock and Newquay are all just a short drive away, which meant beaches, ice cream, digging, ball chasing and swimming were on the agenda every day! And to top off the perfect day of woodland walkies before breakfast, tearing it up on the beach for hours, fooling our owners into giving us some of their fish and chips for lunch, we were able to easily find a dog-friendly pub for dinner, drinks and saying 'hello' to the locals.
The cottage
After all the craziness of the day, it was so lovely to go back to the cottage to cosy up in front of the fire, crack open a bottle of wine (well, pooch wine for us) and watch a film. After getting suitably snuggled, the owners put us to bed and they went to sleep in the MASSIVE bed. Oh man, it looked sooooo comfy but we weren’t allowed on it. Lucky humans.
Each day was super easy to plan thanks to all the local information provided by Sam and Rachel - and, although we didn’t really care about this, the humans seemed to love how impeccably clean and tidy the whole cottage was. Apparently, no stone was left unturned!
The verdict
To summarise, our stay at Valley Cottage was paws-down a 5-paw experience for us and a 5-star experience for the humans. All five of us in our little family had the best time and we can’t wait until the humans take us there again!
Think your dog has got what it takes?
We're on the hunt for our next Canine Critic and if you think your canine pal could do the job, then what are you waiting for? You and your pup could soon be travelling the UK, reviewing the top dog spots that our country has to offer. Click below to register your interest for the prestigious canine role.
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.