Welcome to the pack, intrepid dog lovers
It's been more than two years since my last post here, a lot has happened.
Hi there! I’m Lottie, author of Dog Days Out and Dog-Friendly Weekends. You’re subscribed to this newsletter because you opted in to receive updates on dog-friendly travel recommendations. If you don’t fancy it anymore, you can unsubscribe at the bottom.
There are few better things in life than watching your dog snooze deeply in their bed. I find this extra pleasing when we are away from home, too. Knowing Arty, my slightly anxious Manchester Terrier, feels safe and satisfied enough to nestle his head inside a blanket and let out that enormous, over-dramatic sigh dogs do when they’re about to have a Very Good Sleep, is the best feeling.
Sleeping is important for dogs. It’s an essential part of a healthy lifestyle: it helps boost their immune system, it assists brain development, and increases their learning capacity. It also helps anxious little dogs like mine decompress after an intense day of socialising. This is why, instead of spending what was a gorgeous sunny afternoon outside on the trails of Wallonia in Belgium, where we’re currently exploring for Book Number Three (details on books One and Two below), we holed up in our hotel room so the dog could nap before dinner.
For all the fun and adventuring I brag about on Instagram, there’s a whole lot of downtime I don’t let you all see. Our own dog-friendly days out aren’t all go, all the time. In fact, I have spent countless hours sitting on hotel beds or trying to get comfortable on tiny self-catering cottage sofas so my dog can get his rest. It usually looks a little something like this:
While I’d much rather be outside walking, or perhaps eating and drinking in the sun — ideally on a dog-friendly vineyard — retreating to a quiet space where I can take his harness off and let him feel free and relaxed is a responsibility I have to meet. I have to get over my FOMO, and so do you. If you travel with your dog, you might want to consider all this next time you take a trip. If you’re anything like me, your default setting is to be outdoors and exploring for as much time as possible. But setting aside part of the day for Official Downtime is important for your dog, and it might just teach you to relax a little, too.
It’s true that without my dog, I wouldn’t get to have half the adventures I currently do. But it’s also true that without Arty, I wouldn’t spend half as much time chilling out on trips as I need to. This is to say, while my entire career is about exploring with my dog, sometimes the best parts are the in-between bits where we are simply just being.
So with that in mind, here are a few places I wholeheartedly recommend for your downtime hours on holiday:
The Tawny, Staffordshire: hot tubs on every deck? Bathtubs by the floor-to-ceiling windows? Views out over the lakes and gardens? Yes, don’t mind if I do. And we did.
Sandy Toes Beach House, Kent: never busy beach right on your doorstep, beautiful walks to a nature reserve, and endless sea views from the living room where the fire roars in winter to keep you all warm. This is officially our happy place.
The Owl House, Shropshire: an enclosed acre of paddock (not suitable for dogs liable to jump), a deck with its own bubble bath, and a log fire for cozy nights in. Frankly, I don’t know why you’d even bother adventuring from here — we barely did when we stayed in 2021.
I know it’s been a while…
This is the first newsletter I’ve sent in over two years. It’s somewhat embarrassing to admit that, but it’s been a strange time. My first book came out and sales went wild — it exceeded expectation and I sold out at numerous Dogfest events and the publisher had to reprint several times in the first year. All the while, I was losing my mum. She died just two months after Dog-Friendly Weekends was released, at the age of just 58, so my focus really lay with caring for her in her final months. I stopped working and travelling, and life was very much on hold for a while.
The last couple of years have been ridden with grief — for both myself and Arty. He slept by her side every day for a good couple of months before she died, and he’s struggled to adjust to life without her just as I have.
But we’ve also managed to fill the last two years of life without mum with some joy — namely thanks to my second book: Dog Days Out. I signed the contract on this book while living with and caring for my mum in her final month on this earth, and so going forth to eventually research and write it in 2023 was done in her honour. She couldn’t join me on the adventures required, but she was there very much in spirit, and I thought of her every single day.
Now, we’re already working on Book Number Three — a European odyssey for intrepid dog owners — and plotting books Four and Five. I’ll keep updating you through this newsletter, and on Instagram as usual.
For now, happy travels with your dogs, and thanks for subscribing.
