We went for a three-day stay off the grid in a reactive dog friendly cabin at unplugged! located at Pablo in Finchingfield, Essex, just North of London. The entire trip was incredible and perfect for anyone looking for an escape with their reactive dog. While two of the cabins are close to each other, you can see this on their website, so if you avoid those two, all the rest (from what I can see ) are very rural, with some even having their own fenced garden space. We traveled down on Tuesday, and the trip took around four hours (quite a drive for us and Loki). He was a little restless on the journey down but soon unwound when we arrived.
Our Arrival At Unplugged
Upon our arrival at about 4 pm, we parked up at the bottom and grabbed the little trolley to fill it with our things. We then wheeled it up as we took the short walk up to the cabin. The cabins are self check-in with a lockbox code, and awaiting us within the cabin was a wooden box with a padlock (to lock away our phones), an instant digital camera with 10 shots of film, a compass, and some maps about the surrounding area, including walkable pubs. Loki even had a doggy welcome pack with a bowl, treats, and a towel for his muddy paws. Several books were provided about the art of doing nothing and unwinding, although I packed my own (The Forever Dog), which I will also review when I’ve finished it.
There were also games; we played several games of Scrabble (which I lost all three times), Dog-inoes (yes, dominoes with dogs; Loki’s favourite was the Dalmatian, of course), and the timeless classic, Jenga!
The cabins are equipped with all the utensils you need to cook on the mini hobs, or grind and prepare fresh coffee. I particularly enjoyed the chamomile tea blend before bed with my book, but we predominantly cooked on the fire-pit with the sounds of the old-school radio they have in the background. The cabin has a small fireplace too, which kept us really warm. I even almost melted my shoes drying them out a little too much – lol. The fire-pit was perfect, and we spent most evenings in front of it. Wood and fuel for cooking were provided too, and we had our fill of burgers and sausages. (Loki had a cheeky few sausage ends in a Kong.) He was nervous about the fire on the first night but was more confident when we lit it earlier in the evening the following day. When he realised the sausages were cooked on it, Loki was happy to relax nearby, awaiting sausage ends (he’s quite sensitive in the dark, so I think that’s why he was initially wary). The first night, Loki did start randomly barking at the bushes (at foxes, we realised), which spooked us enough to call it a night and head inside after we had toasted some marshmallows for dessert.
You should note that if you are raw feeding your dog or leaving bones outside, they will get snatched by foxes. Poor Loki lost his hambone and rabbit ear on the first night, haha.
Surrounding Area & Wildlife
The surrounding areas of Pablo were incredible for Loki, and he was able to spend most of his time off-lead, exploring the new scents and sights, which was so nice. Lots of "dog-friendly" holidays are in dog-heavy areas that are not so great for a reactive dog like Loki, but Pablo was perfect. The two connecting woodlands were filled with bluebells, birdsong, and we even spotted herds of wild deer, foxes, bats, and wild hares. Loki did try to chase the odd hare, but he is much too slow. However, he did drop his ball down a huge badger hole, so that’s never to be seen again.
We took several walks daily and thoroughly enjoyed spotting all the wildlife. There are several bird hides dotted about too (although they were laddered, so not dog-friendly).
Making Memories
One of the things I loved was the instant film camera, although Dewi (dog-dad) opened the back and exposed half of the film (classic). Thankfully we still came home with a few snaps. There’s something about watching your pics develop and instantly having something to hold that I just loved. Obviously, I have my camera, but I never print my photos. It’s something I always say I’ll do and then never do, so I really enjoyed capturing memories this way. A blurry photo of Loki enjoying a Kong by the fire-pit is now my bookmark.
We were very lucky with the weather; we only had a short burst of rain and started cooking when it started to rain. It went from zero to downpour within minutes, so we had to give up on cooking the sausages on the pit. Dog dad tried cooking them under an umbrella; however, the rain was too much and started dripping on the sausages, so he rushed them inside and we finished them on the hob with a few burgers, and Loki’s longing gaze to taste test them.
Our Time Unplugging
I found it much easier to unplug than I had initially thought. Somehow, taking a break from Instagram and my phone in general was actually really relaxing. Instagram is both my hobby and day job, so it can be quite exhausting without realising it. I didn’t realise how much sitting on my iPad before bed affected my sleep, until I started reading a book before bed with a mug of chamomile tea instead.
The bed was super comfy too, and having the huge window to sleep by and watch the stars was amazing. The bed is also really high, so we were able to keep Loki off it completely, except for the last day when we wanted to take a few snaps. Loki settled very well and spent his evenings asleep on the seating area or on his bed near the fire.
The rest of our evenings were warm and beautiful, and we enjoyed watching the sunset whilst toasting marshmallows. Loki was able to potter about freely. The airport is fairly close by too, and with the clear night sky, you could see the planes flying over to land.
Local Places
We did venture to one of the local pubs for fresh handmade pizza one evening and also popped to a small, beautifully furnished local tearoom called ‘The Greedy Duck’. I highly recommend their millionaire’s shortbread, and the lady was so lovely to chat with. She has spoken to a few unplugged adventurers before; she told us about Jamie Oliver buying the huge house that was nearby and how beavers had been reintroduced into the wild. (We left Loki sleeping on the sofa in the cabin, so I’m not sure if either of these places were dog-friendly or not.)
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would absolutely stay again - this is truly a reactive dog friendly cabin. We might make it an annual holiday to unplug and detox from screens for a few days, and totally recommend you give it a try!