About Us

WHO ARE WE AND WHY DO WE LOVE HAVING DOGS ON HOLIDAY HERE IN NORFOLK SO MUCH!?

Dog friendly norfolk cottages

Sue with Ernie, a Romanian rescue and Mabel, a re-homed reactive border terrier bitch - both very much a key part of Team ERC!

THE EAST RUSTON COTTAGES ETHOS.

We support dog rescues and charities by donating money from each booking to our charity 'pot' Every few months we have a share out of this pot and ask our many thousands of social media followers to nominate their favourites. Check our our Charity page on the website to see just a few of those we have supported over the years.

We support our local businesses. We use many of the local shops and cafes, pubs and small businesses ourselves and really are passionate about our guests doing the same. Our repeat guests (and that's over 65% of our total number of guests!) get offered a voucher to spend in a local business each time they book. That keeps the money being spent in the area the cottages are in and that we love and live in! #buylocal

Hello! I am Sue Allen and the founder of East Ruston Cottages. ERC came about because I regularly went on holiday with friends and up to 6 dogs and I knew just how impossible it could be to find a properly dog friendly holiday, somewhere that would allow us to bring all the dogs and...

not charge a fortune
know they were safe in a properly fenced garden
let us relax knowing they were allowed on the sofas and welcome in all areas
not have to stick to a load of rules
not have to stay somewhere dog-eared or doggy just because we had more than 2 dogs!

We would spend ages looking for places that were properly dog friendly, that would allow us to bring all of us our dogs without making us feel like they were a nuisance or an extra cost! And it was very difficult!

So East Ruston Cottages came into being because of that - because I wanted to provide what dog lovers really WANT on holiday!

Happily I live in probably the most dog friendly county in the UK! Norfolk is just SO very dog friendly - the beaches, the countryside, the cafes and pubs - and I know it all really well as I walk my own dogs and ride Pogo the horse here all the time and often eat in the dog friendly cafes and pubs!

The team we have built up is the best we have ever had and ALL of them own and love dogs - and most of our owners do too! At last count we had over 50 between us!

We love what we do and are passionate about offering properly dog friendly accommodation (rather than dog tolerant) that pleases owners as well as their dogs. We understand the needs of reactive dogs particularly and can help you find the right property and advise on the quietest places to walk.

George is the other key member of the ERC team; with us since August 2020. The very best we have had and very able to hold the fort on her own! Since leaving the RAF after 12 years service, George took a complete and very successful career change and now loves helping our guests to book their perfect dog friendly holiday and looking after them during the process. She works with another independently owned local agency and between us we have well over 80 cottages in the area that George cares for.

She knows the area very well having lived here for many years and customer service is her top priority! George works from her Norfolk home in Potter Heigham with her Great Dane, Polly and super cute Cocker Spaniel, Penny, as the perfect office additions and can often be seen walking them on the beaches near her home. She had her first baby, little Roberta, in January 2024 ... and was back to work just a few weeks later!

George can be contacted on hello@eastrustoncottages.co.uk

Working away in the background is my wonderful partner Roger - a train driver by trade, he does much of the payment work, purchasing, sorts out our guest vouchers, keeps the company car going and is in charge of the ERC motorhome! He generally keeps both me and our dogs cared for, sane and fed! (he's an ex chef and doesn't my waistline know it!)

Into mountain biking (tricky here in flat Norfolk!), paddle boarding, squash, canal boats and camping as well as dog walks and bbqs on our great Norfolk beaches!

Kerry and one of her gorgeous whippets

Kerry Jordan does a huge amount of our social media, mail outs, collaboration work and more and is, of course, a true dog lover! She is a great dog photographer - check out her website Fur & Fables - and knows LOTS of dog people, working alongside many other small dog focused brands and businesses. She has really helped us in our collaborations with other brands and businesses and is as helpful and hardworking as you can get, whilst at the same time being creative and having great ideas. In 2023 her dog photography business was selected by Theo Paphitis and won the Small Business Sunday award - a huge win for a one woman band!

And of course we couldn't do this without YOU, our fabulous guests. We have won the Self Catering Cottages section of the UK wide Dog Friendly awards for FIVE years in a row because our amazing guests voted for us! That makes us feel very humbled and grateful!

So ask us anything you want to know about your Norfolk dog friendly holiday and between us we will be pleased to help you!

"Our first time at Hidden Gem but not East Ruston Cottages. The cottage is absolutely wonderful and has a very homely feel. We have had a really relaxing holiday in a stunning location and Hidden Gem is like a home from home. The beach and dunes are beautiful and the garden has been perfect for our two hounds! A very dog friendly holiday cottage. All the extra little touches and the welcome gifts have been much appreciated! We will definitely be back!! "

Phil and Clare with Pepo and Molly

Testimonial for Hidden Gem (Dog friendly holiday cottage in Norfolk)

"Our first stay at Red Roofs and we will definately be returning. Beautiful house and location. Garden is perfect for the dogs, house is well equipped and the welcome pack is a great gesture. We will be back next year ..... just hope you aren't fully booked!"

Vicky and Colin

Testimonial for Red Roofs

"Thank you so much for allowing us to be your first guests in Corner Cottage. My first impression was "WOW!". The cottage is amazing, you have thought of everything (even supplied fantastic weather!). The decoration is lovely, beds so comfortable. It was so nice to be able to bring the dogs so they could have a holiday with us and experience the beach for the first time."