If you’ve ever thought about staying in one of our cabins but felt unsure, or not really known what to expect - I’ve written this for you.
I’m Grace – the Head of Marketing here at Unplugged. Like most people working in 2025, my job is is primarily online. I work on a laptop, I post on social media, I write and read emails for 8 hours a day. And yes, the irony isn’t lost on me that I work for a brand focused on digital detoxing.
But I am lucky enough to research a lot about the powers of going offline and write about how important it is to step away from all that noise (even for a 20 minute walk). So I wanted to write about how it feels - not what it looks like on the gram. Exactly what it felt like, no marketing buzzwords, no sugar-coating, just an honest look at the highs, the wobbles, and how it actually feels like for a marketing-chronically-online-girlie to go offline.
Day 1: The Adjustment
I stayed at Monty with my sister, which was sooo easy from London. Literally 45 mins from Euston station. The cabin was hidden around a little corner and following step by step instructions to find the cabin was a my first throwback: printing off AA directions in the 90s.
Worst-case-scenario thinking
We got to know the cabin and settle in before locking our phones away. And I won’t lie - I was anxious. I was thinking worst-case scenario: what if work needs me? What if I forgot to do something that I won’t be able to do for 4 days?
But this is incredibly normal, and expecting it made it easier. I like to call it “annual leave anxiety” - where our brains are wired to think of the ‘what ifs’ when we’re so used to being reachable 24/7.
But once my phone was switched off and locked away, I felt instant relief. Like when you’ve been procrastinating a task and you finally get it done.
Boredom feels…itchy
We lit a fire, poured a drink, and just…sat. And it was a uncomfortable for about 10 mins…like “ok what do we do now?” The boredom felt almost itchy. I tried to keep myself busy by making plans for the next few days or trying to figure out how to work the coffee grinder.
But after that initial discomfort, it began to feel liberating. It’s rather wonderful to not be thinking about the 132 tasks I have to get done. Research shows that boredom is actually good for us, it can spark creativity, reduce stress, and help us regulate emotions. And you know what? The science doesn’t lie. That empty space in my mind started to feel like a gift.
Day 2 and 3: The Magic
After getting used to being offline, the benefits I’ve been writing about actually kick in. We slept incredibly and I didn’t wake up feeling tired like I can do when I wake up at home, even if I’ve slept well. Over the next couple of days of walking, cooking, chilling I can honestly say I have never felt more rested. It was as if, in my normal life, I’ve been living with a mental hangover that I didn’t know I had.
Conversation mode: activated
Usually me and my sister talk plans, logistics, skincare. But over dinner we started talking about memories and deeper topics of conversation that we don’t seem to have space for in the real world. We couldn’t scroll back through our phones to find a picture or work out a date - we just had to remember it. We played board games, but were entirely present in it. We didn’t get side-tracked by a message - we were locked in.
Mental load: deleted
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I have a heavy mental load. I’m always thinking of things that I need to do. But in the cabin this doesn’t exist. Truly having nothing to do was one of the most freeing feelings. I can’t be productive here. I can’t quickly book an appointment whilst drinking my tea, I can’t check in on work. I felt totally free to just…be me.
Clarity on a different level
I felt mentally clear. I started having genuinely creative thoughts about work, not in a stressful way, but in that clear-headed, blue-sky thinking kind of way. Science backs this too: being in nature without tech can improve focus, spark creative problem-solving, and even reduce cortisol levels.
You don’t need to fill idle time
Normally if I have idle moment, I’d use those ten spare minutes to ‘quickly check socials’ and suddenly 20 minutes are gone and I’m comparing my life to someone who’s renovating a country home in the Cotswolds.
But without our phones, couldn’t fill that time. Sometimes we sat in silence, sometimes it gave us space to talk about random thoughts. And we actually noticed things because we weren’t looking down. Like a bird we’d never seen before. We could’t look it up so we guessed and debated and flicked through the nature books back at the cabin. It was a reminder that not knowing something straight away can lead to better conversation.
Time feels slower, in a good way
Time slowed down, in a good way. I was walking through the day, not sprinting. It gave me time to reflect and think outside of my to-do list. also I had a bit of a what are we doing with our lives?! moment whilst at the local pub. Seeing couples at the table just scrolling made me realising how silly it is to spend hours watching strangers make smoothies or redecorate their bathrooms when there is a world out here.
Day 4: Coming Back to Reality
I honestly didn’t want to turn my phone back on. I didn’t miss it. At all. In fact, I felt anxious when I was about to turn it on, which is ironic considering I felt the same feeling when I went to lock it away.
When I finally did switch mine on? Nothing major had happened. No emergencies. No chaos. Just a few WhatsApps and a couple of emails that could absolutely wait. The world kept turning.
I came home feeling totally refreshed. Not that urgh back to reality crash I sometimes get after a beach holiday. More like: I feel reset. I feel excited. I feel like myself again.
I was also properly grateful. For home. For work. For nature. For my sister. For the fact that I work at a company that genuinely gets it, and is doing something to help people feel this good.
It made me realise how much I need these breaks, even when I think I don’t. Not just once in a blue moon, every quarter. I have time for myself if I make time.
So If You’re Thinking About Booking…
Do it. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what to expect or if you’ll manage without your phone. You’ll be fine. You’ll be MORE than fine. Unplugged isn’t just for people who meditate, journal or hike every Sunday. It’s for the rest of us, too. The ones who use their phone but also know it’s frying their brain. Thousands of people have stayed at our cabins and come back raving about how rested and clear they feel. If they can do it, you can too.
Unplugging isn’t about becoming a new person overnight. It’s just about remembering the one you already are.