We hired a lovely little cottage in North Yorkshire, a short train trip or drive from Whitby.

Check in was 4pm so we split the three-hour journey with one toilet stop at services and another couple of hours at a nearby NT property.

First holiday not starting at the crack of dawn we were meant to leave around 1030, but the best laid plans and all that meant we went back to the house three times before getting on our way.

And can I be smug and say that none of the returns was due to a fault of mine! The last was because my husband needed us to double check that he’d locked the front door securely.

Beningbrough Hall was really lovely for a wander round the gardens which had been newly landscaped with new planting. The scones were nice too!

We travelled for a long journey with our rescue, and he was initially unsettled to be staying somewhere new. But once he got used to being in a house with stairs he jumped onto furniture with joyful leaps.

Day 2 was spent by the beach near Robin Hood’s Bay. Apart from an accident with scalding hot chocolate this was a lovely little seaside cliff to climb. Windy streets with toffee coloured stone walls and a sense of vertiginous walkways were our only route to the beach which the dog adored. He was adored by many of the other dogs too.

We (mum and dad) finished off with Eton mess icecream sundaes at the little garden centre 200 yards from our cottage. We all unwind in different ways.