Whether you're out walking, cycling, paddleboarding or golfing you'll want to relax when you get back to The Green Lodge. The living room seats eight on comfy sofas and armchairs, with footstools so you can get into your perfect position. Gather and watch the flames play in the wood burning stove, or choose a film from our selection of some 700 on our 47" smart TV.

Kids wanting a separate chill space congregate on the bean bags in the top hall - with lots of plugs for their devices there'll be no arguments over the charger.

You may not plan to eat in every meal, but when you do, you’ll find everything you need. With generous supplies of china, cutlery and glassware and a well-equipped kitchen, there are all the appliances you’d expect such as an oven, microwave, hob, kettle, toaster, dishwasher, along with staples such as tea, coffee, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper. And sharp knives – with a sharpener for those to whom it matters.

There’s other stuff you might not expect, like a slow cooker, so you can throw stuff in it in the morning and come back from your bike ride to a meltingly good casserole, and herb planters for you to use – help yourself to rosemary, thyme and sage, and in summer parsley, dill, coriander and basil. Depending on the season of your visit, there might be alpine strawberries or apples to pick.

Then there’s the Heston Blumenthal Sage Oracle Touch coffee machine, that makes your choice of latte, flat white, cappuccino, espresso or long black – and froths the milk for delicious hot chocolate too. It’s easy to master, and I’ve put a video here showing how to use it.

• Bedroom 1 - upstairs, one superking 
• Bedroom 2 - upstairs, two single beds
• Bedroom 3 - upstairs, one king
• Bedroom 4 - downstairs, two single beds

The beds are staggeringly comfortable, with Hypnos Orthocare mattresses, layered with memory foam toppers and covered with Coolmax protectors to prevent overheating. No footboards, so tall people can stretch out to their full extent during the night with complete ease.

All the rooms have black out blinds and every guest has a choice of pillow: goosedown or, for those with allergies, microfibre with silk, and each pillow is also covered with a Coolmax pillow protector. The duvets, within their duvet protectors, are mid-season 9 tog, and each room has a range of additional soft blankets and throws.

The end result of all this obsession has to be experienced to be believed, and sliding between the sheets at night is a positive joy.

Upstairs there are two bathrooms: the master ensuite shower room and the family bathroom with a tub and over-bath shower that serves bedrooms 2 and 3.

Downstairs, there is a shower room with grab rails (more details in the Accessibility section of our digital guidebook).

There are complimentary toiletries in all the bathrooms, and each guest is provided with a large fluffy bath sheet, a hand towel and a flannel.

We love dogs! Enjoy bringing your well-behaved dog on holiday with you, with prior arrangement.

There is an enclosed garden at the back of the Green Lodge, and an outside tap for hosing off the worst of the mud. We provide an emergency supply of dog towels in case you forgot, as well as a dog bed, blanket and bowl.

It's not always easy to find a really nice holiday cottage that accepts a dog (or sometimes two), so we hope you understand why we insist that your dog is not allowed in any of the bedrooms, or on the furniture. 

There are wonderful walks all over the National Park, but one loop in particular is perfect for that early morning or late afternoon dog walk. Leaving The Green Lodge, you just cross the road and plunge into the woods, going through the most glorious and varied scenery with breathtaking views of the Cairngorms. You'll find the map in our digital guidebook.

There's lots of storage in the house, and a utility room with a dishwasher, tumble dryer, back sink and drying racks for any wet gear. The underfloor heating helps any boots dry out gently - and the dogs love it too!

There's a bike shed in the garden for your sole use, and you'll find extra stores of peanuts to top up the red squirrel feeders.