I stayed a the dog-friendly cottage in the UK with welcome hampers and nearby beaches

PEOPLE don’t seem to just like East Ruston Cottages – or ERC as its veteran guests refer to it for short. They love it. Really love it.

The one thing uniting them all? Dogs. Every one of them is a pet owner.

2

2

And like dogs with a bone, they can’t seem to let go of this agency for dog-friendly cottages in coastal and rural Norfolk.

They don’t just come once. Or twice. Some have booked upward of 30 times over the last decade.

So, what makes these cottages so special? Well, after I check in for a few days at the four-person Farthing Cottage, in the village of Trunch, between the coast and Norfolk Broads, it’s easy to see.

The semi-detached, flint-stone cottage, set back from a quiet residential road, is a delight.

There are paw-print stickers padding across the patio doors inviting my Manchester Terrier, Arty, out into the fully enclosed garden.

There’s also a welcome hamper with treats for humans as well as a mini-hamper for the dog, with Norfolk-made dog treats, a collapsible bowl, a clip-on light for visibility in the dark and a poo-bag holder.

The shelf in the hallway has a tin of dog treats and a jar full of dog tags with the cottage address on one side and a “I’m on holiday” notice on the other.

And on the hooks by the front door, there’s even a bag with “I need space” lead labels to borrow from Yellow Dog UK, made for anxious or reactive dogs that don’t want to be approached by others when roaming the local footpaths.

The owners, it seems, really have thought of everything, and to my delight they’ve not left a list of rules my dog must follow.

We spend our days roaming on the local dog-friendly beaches at Mundesley and Trimingham, and evenings curled up on the sofas with the fire blazing.

The local social club (also dog-friendly) has a beer festival on, so I drink local ales and listen to live music before retiring to the cottage, where Arty is allowed to snooze on the bed with me, just as he does at home.

If you are stuck for things to do in the local area, this can be quickly remedied with a visit to the ERC Facebook page.

Regular visitors lurk on the company’s Facebook group, which has a bewildering 6,000 members, ready to pounce with recommendations of nearby pubs, beaches or fish and chip shops.

After years of staying at dog-friendly accommodation and writing dog-friendly guidebooks, few places can match up to the efforts made by East Ruston Cottages.

I’m no longer surprised by the fact that the company’s most popular properties, such as The Lookout which has a sea view, are booked right through until 2026 in some cases.

And while I’m not about to join the congregation of impassioned Facebook followers, I will no doubt be returning for more.

• Lottie is the author of Dog Days Out (Conway, 2024) and Dog-Friendly Weekends (Bradt Guides, 2022).
• Two-bedroom Farthing Cottage costs from £187 per night. For details of this and more cottages, see eastrustoncottages.co.uk