Why you should book White Cottage for your dog friendly staycation in Norfolk!
Why you should book White Cottage for your dog friendly staycation in Norfolk?
Well, here’s why we bought it 6 years ago! We actually only viewed one property when we started looking for a suitable dog friendly holiday property – and it was White Cottage! It stood out a mile to us. At the time we had 6 dogs, and we really wanted to be able to go on holiday and not worry about neighbours. We wanted the dogs to be able to zoom around a big garden and play. White Cottage is basically in the middle of a field (see aerial shot!) We do have neighbours across the road – and of course Jan (Nero’s kitchen) whose house you can see from the kitchen window, but no direct neighbours.
White Cottage has no front door – a bit bizarre I know – but it means the only way in is via the garden gate, and then the conservatory door. I’m paranoid about my dogs getting out so security is a massive thing for me, which is why the parking area is all fenced in. You can drive in, shut the gates and let the dogs out, it’s safe. We’re always reviewing the fencing and replace bits of it most years – this coming January the area near the garden gate is being replaced.
It’s got a great feel to it, it’s an old cottage, about 200 years old and was originally two cottages. The walls are thick, the ceilings are low, there’s hard floors (stone and wood) everywhere. No need to worry about dogs and paw prints, it’s all practical and easy to clean. Our priorities when choosing a holiday cottage were the following (in no particular order). Comfy big beds, comfy big sofas, a good shower, secure parking area, big secure garden, big tv, and a 10 min walk to the beach. Basically somewhere we could chill out with our dogs. Really we bought it for us and our dogs, and it was a bonus that everyone else loved it too!
White Cottage is about a ten minute walk through the village to The Hill House which is our local dog friendly pub. White Cottage is just on the edge of Happisburgh, it’s a lovely friendly village. A 5 minute drive to The Star Inn in Lessingham, which is the next closest dog friendly pub with superb food, and then there’s The Lighthouse Inn, about 7 mins drive! Smallsticks Cafe at Cart Gap (5 mins drive or 20 mins walk) is brilliant, and you can sit in their garden with dogs, but they can’t go inside, our dogs sometimes wait in the car while we pop in for a quick lunch or hot chocolate. There’s Waxham Dunes cafe at Waxham Barn – about 15 mins drive away which is dog friendly.
Our favourite walk is Happisburgh beach, we never get bored of it, and now that we live nearby in Ridlington we walk there most days with our 3 dogs. To walk to the beach you just turn right out of the house, then turn right again at Lighthouse Lane (Jan’s house). Follow the road all the way along to Beach Rd, turn right and you’re at the beach and the Lighthouse. When the tide is high, we go to Bacton Woods, beautiful tall conifers, it’s absolutely stunning there, and remarkably quiet too.
We’ve not done it but guests have hired boats and done a day on the Broads. Kisis pet shop in Wroxham is fantastic, and have made several collars and harnesses for my dogs, they also sell a good selection of raw food and natural treats.
By the time you’ve done all that, you’ll have to book another week to come back and go a little further afield! We love White Cottage, we lived there during the first lockdown (we were mid moving house) so we really do know it back to front, and upside down, and we just love it’s character and it’s quirks. It’s a special house for sure.
