Travelling with your dog to the Forest of Dean: the drive, the arrival, the first night

A holiday with the dog starts in the car, and the car is where most of the stress lives: the panting in the back, the stop you did not plan, the arrival at a strange place where nobody knows the dog's name. We can help with the last part directly, because we are on site and we ask about your dog before you get here. For the drive, we have pulled together what the vets and the Highway Code actually say, so you are not relying on us for that.

Before you set off

Two things to check that are easy to forget. Your dog's microchip details should be current with the microchip company, and the tag on the collar should carry an up-to-date phone number. PDSA points out that the collar tag is a legal requirement, not a nicety. If you are the sort of household where the tag has your old address on it, this is the week to fix it.

The PDSA also suggests finding the nearest vet to your destination before you travel, and checking they will see a new client in an emergency and how their out-of-hours service works. We will give you the number for ours when you book, so you do not have to hunt for it.

If your dog gets car sick, talk to your vet ahead of the trip. PDSA's advice is that prescribed medication works where over-the-counter remedies generally do not, and that short practice journeys, built up gradually, help more than anything.

The drive

The Highway Code is short on this. Rule 57: when in a vehicle, make sure dogs are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving, or injure you or themselves if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, a pet carrier, a dog cage or a dog guard are all listed as ways of doing it.

PDSA adds the comfort side. Give the dog a bed for the journey, a drink and a stretch before you leave, and stop regularly for water, a walk and the toilet. On warm days travel early or late, and use sun shades or a cooling mat, because the back seat and the boot heat up faster than the front.

We are at Aylburton, near Lydney, on the southern edge of the Forest of Dean. Bristol and Cardiff are both within easy reach over the Severn bridges, and the M5 brings the Midlands down to us. Lydney has supermarkets about seven minutes from the stables if you need to stock up on the way in, and public chargers about a mile away if the car is electric. There is a charging point by each stable as well.

The one rule with no exceptions

Never leave the dog in the car, at a service station, at a viewpoint, anywhere. The RSPCA's figure is that when it is 22 degrees outside, a car can reach 47 degrees within an hour, and shade or an open window do not change that. This matters on the way here, and it matters more on the days out, which is why we have a different answer for the days the dog cannot come with you. It is further down.

Arriving

The entrance to the property is a pair of automated gates. We give you the way in before you arrive, and the gates close behind you. Each stable has its own designated parking space, right by the door, so the dog goes straight from the car to the lead, and from the lead across the drive to your stable.

Inside, everything is on one level. There is a 5ft king bed, a dog bed, a welcome pack for you and a welcome pack for each dog, made up by name, with treats waiting. That is why we ask before you arrive: their names, what they love and what they cannot have. We would rather know about the allergy before the treats go in the bag.

Check-in is from 4pm, and check-out by 10am on your last morning.

Other dogs on site

This is our home. Our own dog lives here, and family come to visit with theirs, so you may see dogs around the grounds. None of them can get into the stables or into your paddock. We tell you now so that nobody is surprised at the gate, and if your dog needs a quiet arrival, say so when you book and we will arrange it.

The first night

Dogs settle faster when something is familiar, so bring their own blanket or bed cover for the sofa, and their usual food. Then give them the paddock. Each stable has its own enclosed grass paddock, private to your booking, with three boundaries between it and the road. Ten minutes off the lead in it after a long drive does more for a dog than anything we could put in the welcome pack.

If the drive was long and the dog is restless after dark, the lane down to the village pub is a gentle lead walk from the door, and the paddock is there again in the morning.

Can we leave the dog while we go out?

For a quick errand, yes, just clear it with us first. Nobody wants the dog waiting in a hot car while you do the big shop. We ask that absences stay short, by arrangement rather than as a standing thing, and anything damaged while you are out is yours to put right. This is a holiday with the dogs, not dog-sitting, and we say it here, before you book, so that it is not a surprise later.

For the days out where the dog genuinely cannot come, the better plan is to take turns, or to pick one of the many places in the Forest that are happy to have them. We have written a separate guide to which is which.

The checklist

• Microchip details current, collar tag with a live phone number
• Harness, carrier or dog guard for the car
• Water, bowl, towel, their own bed or blanket
• Their usual food, plus anything they take regularly
• Their lead for the driveway, the lanes and the Forest
• Our number saved, and the vet's once we have sent it

Then come and find the paddock. Your dog will know what to do with it.