‘It costs more than a walk in gorse, but Highlands massage is an experience offering real tranquility’
Lush recently launched The Highlands treatment in its Scottish spas, a full body hot stone massage inspired by the spirit of the Highlands. Using Gaelic music and an ancient stone consultation, it promises to take clients on a journey through the rugged landscape in just over an hour. As a Highlander myself, I was keen to try it out...
A massage treatment featuring Highland spring water and stones carved with ancient Scottish symbols, “choreographed” to historic Gaelic folk songs? It’s safe to say I was sceptical.
I roped my boyfriend Aidan into coming to Lush on Buchanan Street in Glasgow. We worked our way upstairs, weaving through the bath bombs, until we reached the spa on the top floor.
James and Cat were our massage therapists for the new Highlands hot stone massage. They led us to a table which held two cloth bundles alongside two cups of spring water from the Highlands. Considering we live in Inverness, I am pretty sure that is what comes out of our taps, but it fitted with the theme so I’ll let it slide.
The treatment was to take us on a journey across the magical landscape of the Highlands. When instructed, we opened our cloth bundles to reveal 11 stones, made from 250-million-year-old Scottish marble, each carved with a different symbol. We had to pick the three that stood out to us.
With James talking to me and Cat to Aidan, they told us the meanings of the three symbols we had picked, then to select the one which resonated. I chose The Journey, which was about settling down after a period of ups and downs, while Aidan went for The Village focusing on community and connection.
At first, the process felt a little airy-fairy but by the time I was on the massage table I completely understood why it had been done that way.
My mind was in the moment in a way that I really don’t think it would have been if I had come off the street and straight into my massage.
The massage room was lit in a soft green and had furze incense scents burning. James and Cat had told us that the hot stones they would use for the massage were natural basalt, commonly found in river beds, and that the oil was infused with mugwort – a Scottish-grown ingredient traditionally used medicinally to settle the nervous system.
Once we were undressed and lying face down on our respective massage tables, the treatment began. The soundtrack for the Highlands treatment is inspired by the invigorating spirit of the region, with singers including Julie Fowlis and Ewen Henderson lending their voices to bespoke Gaelic songs. Lyrics were interspersed within gentle melodies and the sounds of rain and wind.
As someone who grew up in the attic room of her nanny’s house listening to Shetland storms outside, I loved it.
I had never had a hot stone massage before and, while the feeling came as a shock at first, I quickly grew to enjoy it.
It felt more relaxing to me than having someone’s hands kneading my muscles, and the heat was glorious on any tender areas.
James and Cat took their time working on each part of our bodies, moving silently so as to not disturb our relaxation. I had asked for a medium firmness and Aidan wanted a hard firmness and we both felt we got what we were hoping for. James expertly worked around my knees too, which I had grazed taking a knee-slide too enthusiastically in a dance show. I wish I was joking.
To my surprise, I thought about the symbol on my stone a lot. I have always had a busy mind, so having something to pull it back when it wandered really helped me relax.
When the massage was over, Aidan and I agreed we felt a bit like we were floating. We were treated to a Scottish tea infused with heather and a chat with our massage therapists before dragging our feet back out into the city.
When you take each component individually, I don’t think you would be silly to wonder if the Highlands treatment is a bit of a tourist trap.
However, when combined, they really work. The green lighting of the room mimicking the forest, the stones and their ancient symbols, the lilting Gaelic verse, it all marries together to create a pretty magical hour and a half.
The Highlands treatment doesn’t come cheap. At £150 per person, it’s a lot more than a walk through the gorse. That being said, if you do want to treat yourself or someone else, this would be a way to do it.
You pay for an experience rather than just a massage – a moment of peace and tranquility. And, in this day and age, that is arguably priceless.