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What happened when I locked my phone in an actual box

Think about a cabin in the woods and you’ll probably imagine some kind of dark and dreary horror film. If you’re usually the city break/beach holiday type, a UK countryside back-to-basics staycation might not be top of your list. However, it could be just what you need.

Since 2020 Unplugged have been running British countryside retreats with a difference: it’s a full three-day digital detox with no laptop, no TV - oh, and you lock your phone in a wooden box.

The concept is simple: there are nine secluded Unplugged cabins all short distances from London. Busy city dwellers can come and take three days to, literally, unplug - staying in a cabin with all the basic amenities (though Unplugged promises a luxury feel). The only twist is that there are no digital devices whatsoever. Not even a plug socket for your electric toothbrush.

OK, confession time: ever since I got my first iPhone in 2014, I can’t say I’ve been without it for any kind of considerable time. And phones aside, I’m literally always around at least a laptop, TV or iPad. Like most of us, my weekly screen time is much more than I’d like to admit, and it’s rare that I ever switch off. So, faced with the chance to see how I’d cope without my beloved devices, I jumped at the chance to give it a go.

Accompanied by a pal, we headed out to Unplugged’s Essex-based cabin named Pablo (all cabins have individual names) - about an hour and a half drive from North London. First things first: when Unplugged say secluded, they mean secluded. Pablo is around a 20-minute walk from the tiny town of Finchingfield and, while it’s situated on the land of a farm, it feels relatively isolated.

Painted black on the outside, the wooden cabin is only about eight metres in length, with rustic interior design, including a raised double bed, a mini kitchen, a table and a bathroom complete with a monsoon shower. Plus, the wall-sized window looking out onto the green field and blue sky makes lounging in the bed even more inviting. There’s also a handy barbecue, deck chairs and a picnic table outside to be enjoyed during the summer - or, if you choose to stay in colder months like us (so, basically all months in this country), there’s an indoor wood burner which we failed miserably to light. Remember, no Google = no instructions.

All Unplugged cabins feature their signature wooden boxes. You lock your smartphone inside, ripping open a paper envelope containing the padlock key at the end of your stay. In exchange, the box contains a 2005-style Nokia (yes, Snake is included) for emergencies, plus a map and compass. If you’re wondering whether I did DofE, I did not, and I use Citymapper to go everywhere - so these things were totally useless to me, though I love the concept. Other sweet touches in the cabin include a polaroid camera, books on the topic of minimalism and digital detoxing, and a tape player with just three tapes: Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Kate Bush.

Armed with our off-grid toolkit, we headed into town in search of food - conscious that we’d need to be back by around 5pm to avoid struggling home in the dark with no devices. Up until this point, I couldn’t say I’d missed the phone too much, with the two of us chatting away in the cabin and then over a pub lunch (the experience will definitely depend on the company you bring). Still, one thing I did become increasingly aware of was everyone else’s phones pulled out at the table (yes, I’m aware I sound 140 years old). Another thing neither of us was prepared for: what to do when your friend leaves you for the bathroom. You can re-read the menu as much as you want, but seeing everyone else on their phones while you sit there like a lemon still feels horribly awkward - and it reminded me just how much I rely on my phone in everyday life.

Out and about during our walks to town, we took pictures of each other on the provided polaroid and disposable camera we’d brought. Our parents would probably tell us this anyway, but you do savour moments, memories, photos more when they aren’t documented in minute detail via 100 iPhone photos. We felt like the obvious city outsiders, but it was nice to step completely out of our normal day-to-day lives, with absolutely no connection back to them. Returning to the cabin, we spent a wholesome evening talking about everything under the sun, then silently reading and writing in each other’s company - something I would never normally do with a friend in normal life.

"It reminded me just how much I rely on my phone in everyday life"

Waking up in the morning, my first instinct is always to check my phone straight away - but this time I only had the Nokia to glance at the time on. Slowly, the FOMO started to creep in: Had I missed important messages? Were my friends all having a laugh in the group chat? Which Instagram Story updates on my friends’ lives was I missing out on? We’d been to a party the night before: Which of my new acquaintances might have messaged me to a dead response?

For a moment we caught ourselves doing the classic holiday thing of saying, “yeah I could live here, I could do this forever”. Still, by the end we were itching to turn our phones back on - and, I can’t lie, by the car journey home we had very quickly resumed our old habits.

Since then, I can’t say I’ve kept up the offline lifestyle. But as someone who struggles with being on my phone too much, I’m not sure what the answer is. Having short periods offline feels almost like binge detoxing, rather than creating longer term balance in your life - though helping you to adapt to a more balanced life is part of Unplugged’s goal.

The brief reset felt like a much-needed refresh. And when I think back to being toasty under the thick duvet, cold air on my face and hands, looking out at the field and jumping down from the bed to grind coffee beans and pour cereal into a mug, it still feels like a profound haven of peace and stillness that I’d love to jump back into. So, I guess that’s the idea - to give us a taste of what life could be a bit more like, how things could be a bit simpler and a bit calmer. And with cutting down screen time becoming a goal on most people’s lists, maybe an intro into the offline life is something we all need.

Unplugged stays start at £390 for three nights. Find more information at Unplugged.