Slow Cabins, Belgium
Disconnect to reconnect…
A few weeks ago, Richard & I had the pleasure of experiencing ‘Slow Cabins’. Slow Cabins are a series of small wooden cabins located in hidden places in nature. The cabins are for 2 people, are fully immersed in nature and are designed to be self-sufficient and minimalist. The idea behind these magical little escapes, is to truly slow down and reconnect with nature. In the modern world we live at such a fast pace we barely get chance to take in our surroundings or admire the true beauty of our natural world. For me, the thought of going fully ‘off-grid’ for a few days was absolute heaven - there is no wifi or phone signal at the cabins, so it was perfect to switch off without the temptation to reach for your phone or go online - this was exactly what I wanted, and desperately needed! In this blog post I am going to share with you our story of visiting Slow Cabins from start to finish and how you can also experience it for yourself, I would love you come along.
A peaceful getaway
2 weeks before we were due to stay with Slow Cabins, I received an email from them which detailed the ‘secret’ location of our little cabin. It also included a full brochure of everything we needed to know about the stay including information about the location (including GPS coordinates, a map and a full instructions list of how to get there), nearby walks, activities, restaurants, cafes or shops etc, packing list, how to check in / out, cabin amenities and contact details in case we needed assistance. When you initially make a booking, you are not given any information about your specific cabin apart from the general information on the Slow Cabins website, for me this certainly added to the anticipation and excitement of escaping to a hidden location!
Fast forward to the start of our 2 day getaway - we rented a car from Enterprise Rent a Car in the centre of Amsterdam, we picked it up at 10am and set off on a 2.5 hour drive to north Belgium - the location of our cabin. On route we stopped by Eindhoven for lunch and a walk, and then continued our journey. Upon reaching the location where we could park our car, we grabbed our backpacks and checked the map, as we followed the last few instructions to reach our cabin, our location became more and more remote, and we lost phone signal (excellent news - no sarcasm intended here). Since our stay was at the end of November, the ground was a little boggy, and our boots were stomping through muddy grassy paths until we came to a barbed wire fence. Initially, we thought we had taken a wrong turn - surely we wouldn’t need to cross barbed wire to reach our cabin? However, in the name of our escape supposedly being fully immersed in the wilderness, I beckoned to Richard to cross the fence and check ahead around the corner, just in case. I waited behind with the bags, boots seeping further into the boggy ground until I heard Richard call out ‘it’s here!’ excitedly! I too then crossed the fence, and followed behind. I turned the corner behind the woodland to see a full view of our beautiful ‘Slow Cabin’.
A black panelled wood cabin standing alone in the middle of woodland and grassy fields, onlooking vast nature, with a fire pit and 2 outdoor chairs placed neatly to the front of the cabin. As we got closer, I could see the large glass windows allowing me the first glimpse of cosiness inside. For check in, you are given a code to a lockbox located next to the cabin, inside are your cabin keys. I punched in the numbers, grabbed the key and unlocked the door. Immediately I was filled with a warm happy feeling, the cabin was exactly what I imagined. The far left side featured a very comfortable looking double bed right next to glass fronted window stretching the whole wall width - perfect for waking up to the sight of the surrounding nature.
To the right of the cabin is a separate door for the bathroom featuring a Scandinavian dry toilet, sink and shower. All water supplied to the cabin is from a water reservoir filled with filtered rainwater. The cabin is also charged by solar panels. At normal consumption levels, you can live completely self-sufficiently with ‘zero impact’ for several days (even during the winter months). So as your cabin’s battery discharges, yours recharges.
Back in the main room, the cabin has a fully equipped kitchen with a refrigerator, a two-burner hob, a sink and the most important kitchen utensils. Slow Cabins also provide provide cutlery, olive oil, basic cooking spices, fresh drinking water, coffee & tea. Making our way around the room there is an inside log burner with wood, fire starters and matchsticks - this was perfect for our little winter escape, and Richard took great pleasure in lighting the fire each morning and evening - which brings me onto the first order of business, lighting the fire! As the day grew darker we settled into our new temporary home - unpacking the shopping, getting the fire lit and most importantly, slowing down! At first I didn’t know what to do with myself, a strange feeling as all your usual tasks / things to do come to a grinding halt, but by this time it was around 6pm and I decided to start making dinner.
Since we wanted to fully switch off from the outside world whilst at Slow Cabins, we decided to bring all our own food to cook at the cabin. We didn’t want to go to a restaurant or shop, we simply wanted to enjoy each others company, the peacefulness of nature, and the simple parts of life - like reading, cooking, walking and even silence. For our first nights meal I made spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil, we ate this whilst also enjoying a beer, chatting and admiring the burning fire - which was heating up the cabin extremely well! After the tasty meal we just sat for a while, sometimes speaking sometimes just enjoying the sweetness of doing absolutely nothing. Time passed surprisingly slowly at first, with us almost wondering what we should do next, and trying to avoid the feeling of needing to be doing something more than just sitting, but we fought the urge. As the night went on we both delved into our books, had showers and washed up before sinking into the comfiest bed. The mattress and duvet felt like a warm hug, and we found ourselves falling into a deep sleep, listening to the crackling of the fire, but absolutely no other sounds. Heaven.
With no alarm to startle us on a Monday morning, what better way to wake up than simply by the smallest of light creeping through the blind and your own body clock. I rolled over and opened the blinds to a grey and misty woodland ahead, especially beautiful to admire whilst being tucked up in the warm bed. Since the fire had gone out in the middle of the night, it was a little colder than when we went to sleep, but the duvet was keeping us toasty and laying together in peace was the perfect way to start the week. After a while, Richard braved the cold and fetched us some more logs to light the indoor log burner. I got dressed and boiled some water to make a fresh pot of coffee, whilst also putting the porridge on to slowly cook. We enjoyed a slow morning of drinking hot drinks, filling up on porridge and chatting. Richard was enjoying chopping the logs and I wanted to join in, so we spent some time doing it together - Richard finding my attempts funny of course.
We decided we wanted to go on walk, and I had read in the Slow Cabins brochure there was a nature reserve nearby, which sounded perfect. We got ready and set off back to our car (a 10 minute walk from the cabin) and drove to the reserve. I stupidly wore trainers instead of boots, and the ground was very boggy - safe to say my white trainers were white no more, but that didn’t matter. We started our walk by passing a field of horses, we stopped to say hello and feed them some grass, and as we carried on we came across sheep, more horses, some other walkers and their dogs, beautiful surrounding fields and woodland. We walked for a few hours before deciding we were hungry and returned back to the car.
It was a lovely feeling knowing we were driving back to our cosy cabin, still disconnected from the real world and fully connected with the calmness of nature. That evening, we lit the outdoor fire pit, made tea and sat outside for hours in big coats, scarves, gloves and cradling our mugs. Once it got a little too cold and dark we returned to the inside fire and played cards. Those moments we will cherish forever.
It’s funny how when travelling we usually all crave excitement, thrills, crazy adventures and far away places, but actually an adventure fairly close to home, enjoying the most simple aspects of life had us feeling so content and happy. Stopping to admire what’s right there on your doorstep, but what we struggle to see everyday - leaves falling from trees, birds tweeting, the sky and the stars, how grass feels to our bare feet. Nature is truly healing, and I think we would all benefit from slowing down and enjoying time out from the relentless busyness of everyday life.
Slow Cabins was the perfect escape - disconnecting from our norm to reconnect with what should be the norm - the experience of the natural world. I would encourage you to do the same and check out a Slow Cabins escape. No rush, no stress, just complete peace - doesn’t that sound wonderful?
If you reached the end of this blog post, thank you so much for reading. It was lovely to write about this gorgeous little escape from reality, and I hope it encourages you to book a weekend in a Slow Cabin or simply to get out and experience the true wonder of our natural world. Be kind to yourself, slow down and enjoy some peace.
