AD – Press Stay
What would you do if you couldn’t look at your phone for three days? I know… scary, right? Most of my work happens on my phone so safe to say I’m pretty attached. So when the folks over at Unplugged asked if I would be up for trying one of their cabins and go off grid, I was definitely intrigued! So off we went for a three day stay!
Off to Essex
One of the main perks of Unplugged is that all of their cabins (there are 9 cabins at the time of writing) are under an hour from London. We stayed in the Koya cabin, which is located not far from Audley End. The train from Liverpool Street took only about 50 minutes, and then we hopped in a taxi to take us to our final destination.
The cabin was pretty secluded, which was really nice. It’s situated near a farm, but there’s no other accommodation nearby; there weren’t any other people around, so we could really properly enjoy time on our own. It does feel like you’ve come very far, especially coming from London! It was so quiet! We even saw stars one of the nights when it wasn’t too cloudy!
Phones Away Please
So here’s where we get to the fun part: putting our phones away. In the cabin, there’s a little wood box with a lock and key (which is in a stapled envelope for you to open when you leave). In our phones went, locked away for the duration of our stay. There’s also no wifi, so even if you brought your laptop it would be a bit useless. Don’t worry though, there’s plenty to keep you entertained. There is a AM/FM radio and cassette player, along with a selection of tapes to listen to. They also had some topical books to read. My husband picked up Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and got through the whole thing in two days. I brought two books with me and read them both!
So we spent our time reading, playing cards and Scrabble, drinking tea and just switching off. There was a fire pit outside which we did light one of the nights but it was too windy unfortunately! We stayed by the fire as long as we could, but ended up lighting a little fire in the fire burner in the cabin and relaxed with some tea and scrabble. I did get my phone out a couple of times to use as a remote to take some photos but I turned my data off so I wouldn’t be tempted. My phone also went straight back into the box as soon as I was done and it was only for a few minutes at a time.
I asked my husband if it was difficult not having his phone, and here’s what he said: “Not really. Once the phone was in the box you couldn’t just instinctively reach for the phone. Having the books to read about digital detox helped focus the mind as well.”
Off Exploring
One of the days that we stayed in the cabin, we decided to strap on our walking boots and see where we ended up! Well not strictly, but we did have a map of the area with lots of public footpaths marked. So we wandered along. The closest little village to where we were staying was Arkesden, about a 30 minute walk. It was a very sweet little town and we enjoyed walking through and admiring it. We ended up doing a very long loop and walking all the way down and around to Newport and then up to Audley End Station. We’ve been on perhaps nicer and more scenic walks, but it was so nice to be somewhere new and just out in the fresh air, ya know?
We did struggle with food a bit because the pub we’d been planning on for lunch was closed, so by the time we got to the station we were very hungry. The shop at the station was also closed, so we ended getting some takeaway pizzas and then hopping into a taxi back to our cabin. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching the view out of the window.
Truthfully, we spent a good portion of the trip just relaxing, switching off with no distractions and just taking a moment. Digital detox indeed!
So here I am, a few weeks after this digital detox and truthfully, I’m still feeling the effects. One thing I’ve been trying to be more conscious of is having clearer work/life boundaries. I’m on my phone so much for work… I work in social media, how could I not be? The idea of doing a detox sounds a bit intense to be honest!
Things have to be different when I’m just living my life though… Having more time when I’m actively not on my phone is so important, and having a little break with Unplugged has made me want to try a little harder to keep that up. I’d definitely be up for booking a stay at one of their other locations, just to try it again. What do you think? Would you be up for doing a digital detox?
AD – Press Stay
What would you do if you couldn’t look at your phone for three days? I know… scary, right? Most of my work happens on my phone so safe to say I’m pretty attached. So when the folks over at Unplugged asked if I would be up for trying one of their cabins and go off grid, I was definitely intrigued! So off we went for a three day stay!
Off To Essex
One of the main perks of Unplugged is that all of their cabins (there are 9 cabins at the time of writing) are under an hour from London. We stayed in the Koya cabin, which is located not far from Audley End. The train from Liverpool Street took only about 50 minutes, and then we hopped in a taxi to take us to our final destination.
The cabin was pretty secluded, which was really nice. It’s situated near a farm, but there’s no other accommodation nearby; there weren’t any other people around, so we could really properly enjoy time on our own. It does feel like you’ve come very far, especially coming from London! It was so quiet! We even saw stars one of the nights when it wasn’t too cloudy!
Phones Away Please!
So here’s where we get to the fun part: putting our phones away. In the cabin, there’s a little wood box with a lock and key (which is in a stapled envelope for you to open when you leave). In our phones went, locked away for the duration of our stay. There’s also no wifi, so even if you brought your laptop it would be a bit useless. Don’t worry though, there’s plenty to keep you entertained. There is a AM/FM radio and cassette player, along with a selection of tapes to listen to. They also had some topical books to read. My husband picked up Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and got through the whole thing in two days. I brought two books with me and read them both!
So we spent our time reading, playing cards and Scrabble, drinking tea and just switching off. There was a fire pit outside which we did light one of the nights but it was too windy unfortunately! We stayed by the fire as long as we could, but ended up lighting a little fire in the fire burner in the cabin and relaxed with some tea and scrabble. I did get my phone out a couple of times to use as a remote to take some photos but I turned my data off so I wouldn’t be tempted. My phone also went straight back into the box as soon as I was done and it was only for a few minutes at a time.
I asked my husband if it was difficult not having his phone, and here’s what he said: “Not really. Once the phone was in the box you couldn’t just instinctively reach for the phone. Having the books to read about digital detox helped focus the mind as well.”
Off Exploring
One of the days that we stayed in the cabin, we decided to strap on our walking boots and see where we ended up! Well not strictly, but we did have a map of the area with lots of public footpaths marked. So we wandered along. The closest little village to where we were staying was Arkesden, about a 30 minute walk. It was a very sweet little town and we enjoyed walking through and admiring it. We ended up doing a very long loop and walking all the way down and around to Newport and then up to Audley End Station. We’ve been on perhaps nicer and more scenic walks, but it was so nice to be somewhere new and just out in the fresh air, ya know?
We did struggle with food a bit because the pub we’d been planning on for lunch was closed, so by the time we got to the station we were very hungry. The shop at the station was also closed, so we ended getting some takeaway pizzas and then hopping into a taxi back to our cabin. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching the view out of the window.
Truthfully, we spent a good portion of the trip just relaxing, switching off with no distractions and just taking a moment. Digital detox indeed!
So here I am, a few weeks after this digital detox and truthfully, I’m still feeling the effects. One thing I’ve been trying to be more conscious of is having clearer work/life boundaries. I’m on my phone so much for work… I work in social media, how could I not be? The idea of doing a detox sounds a bit intense to be honest!
Things have to be different when I’m just living my life though… Having more time when I’m actively not on my phone is so important, and having a little break with Unplugged has made me want to try a little harder to keep that up. I’d definitely be up for booking a stay at one of their other locations, just to try it again. What do you think? Would you be up for doing a digital detox?
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