With the recession denting the family holiday fund, dreams of foreign beaches are put on hold for a while, as many Britons head to a seaside nearer home this year. But there is one unforeseen beneficiary - the family pet.

Devon’s leading independent holiday cottage company, Marsdens Cottage Holidays, has been deluged with enquiries and bookings from families who are finding that taking “Rover” along on the summer break can end up saving them a lot of money in kennel fees.

“We’ve always been popular with families who feel that their holiday would not be complete if they left the dog at home, but this summer we’ve been amazed at the number of enquiries we’ve had for quality pet friendly accommodation. Pet friendly cottages are finding bookings up by around 30%.” Comments Martin Wickham, Manager at Marsdens Cottage Holidays.

This has also been backed up by a recent poll, conducted by Tesco Pet Insurance, which found that a quarter of dog owners in Britain have deliberately chosen a holiday in the UK over a holiday abroad so that their pet could go with them.

“It's easy to assume that you need to leave your dog at home when you go away, but that need not be the case” continues Wickham. “Approximately 50% of the cottages contained in Marsdens’ programme welcome pets; most of which have easy access to North Devon’s beaches, spectacular cliff-top paths or the wide open expanse of Exmoor.”