HAIRY BIKER SI KING ON HIS LOVE OF NORTHUMBERLAND
AFTER A COLLECTIVE ANNUS HORRIBILIS, THE NATION DESERVES SOME SERIOUS SELF-CARE. TRACEY DAVIES SUGGESTS THESE SUPER SPAS TO RELAX AND REVIVE IN
‘I’VE lived in the north-east all my life. e. It’s where I was born and brought up, p, and my heart and soul is here,’ says 54-year-old gourmand Si King, who can be seen on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer exploring the best of northern food in The Hairy Bikers Go North. ‘I live in a lodge house in Derwent valley, not far from Newcastle. It’s rural and very green and lush with the most amazingly beautiful countryside, massive skies and d coast with unspoiled beaches. And we have ave a fantastic food scene here. The seafood, for example, is second to none – The Potted Lobster in Bamburgh is lovely and cosy and my spiritual home – and local institution Rehill’s, in Jesmond esmond Dene, sells loads of craft beer and rare whiskies, and is just an emporium of happiness.’
King is also a water baby.
‘I’m about 30 minutes’ drive from the sea so it’s perfect for me because I get very distressedsed and it all gets a bit claustrophobic if I’m not nearar it or in it,’ he says. ‘I could start a shop with the different thicknesses of wetsuits I have. I look a lotot like a badly packed kebab in a wetsuit but if youou waited for the weather in the north-east, you wouldn’t do anything. We’re an all-weather family and we’ll go swimming in 4mm neoprenen wetsuits in February in the North Sea.S We are actually slightly deranged but it’sit great.
‘Bamburgh Beach is a very special place for theth family because when my sister got polio as a child, the beach is so long and flat that my fatherfa walked her up and down it for six monthsmonth every single day in rain, gale or shine to rehabilitaterehabil her. She went on to be an international Irish dancerd and a county cross-country runner. ‘With its beach and castle, Bamburgh’s a very beautifulbeauti place. There’s a walk from Stag Rock, which is at the northern part of the beach and takes youy along the coastline and into Budle Bay, which is a wildlife sanctuary where you’ll see seabirds,seabird seals and dolphins if you sit there long enough.enough If I have any times of trouble or difficulty, I go th there.’
in association with
SOUTH LODGE Sussex
Tucked away in a leafy nook of the South Downs, this neo-Jacobean country house hotel, with its grand suites, elegant restaurants and oak-panelled billiards room, has a real Downton Abbey vibe – that is, until you reach The Spa, a contemporary glass-and-wood lodge that feels more like The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills. Centred on a huge indoor pool with a glass wall overlooking the Downs, it has a thermal suite with scented saunas and steam rooms, and enough treatment rooms for the cast and crew. Step outside and slip into the wild swimming pond or hydrotherapy pool, still with those views.
Rooms from £373pn, including breakfast and full spa access,
exclusive.co.uk/south-lodge Nearest station: Horsham
BRIMSTONE SPA Lake District
Swap your hiking boots for towelling slippers at this Lake District retreat. Overlooking the Langdale Valley, the Brimstone Spa offers treatments and thermal experiences inspired by the Lakes landscapes, using Brimstone’s bespoke Pure Alchemy products. The spa offers seven thermal experiences, including a Himalayan salt steam, a herbal sauna and a Roman laconium, while the indoor-outdoor pool has knockout views over the estate. Stay overnight in the Brimstone Hotel: with its natural woods, glass and slate, it’s not unlike a chic mountain chalet.
Rooms from £310pn, including breakfast, complimentary beer, wine and treats in the 24-hour
Reading Room and access to Brimstone Spa. brimstonehotel.co.uk
Nearest station: Windermere
CARBIS BAY ESTATE Cornwall
Forget Sandy Lane in the Caribbean, the Carbis Bay Estate does just the job thanks to 125 acres of private sandy beach. This luxury Cornish retreat overlooking the Atlantic Ocean was recently host to the G7 Summit, so if it’s good enough for world leaders, it’s good enough for us mere mortals. And now those pesky politicians have left, we can all enjoy the newly revamped C
Bay Spa. Whether you soak it up in the heated outdoor pool, steam it out in the barrel sauna or take a snooze in the spa gardens, this stylish seaside spa is just the ticket for a sultry salty pamper. Rooms from £300pn, including breakfast and full access to the spa, carbisbayhotel.co.uk Nearest station: Carbis Bay
THE HARPER
North Norfolk Opened in May, The Harper in Langham offers a more boutiquey spa retreat on the North Norfolk coast. Formerly the village’s old glassblowing factory, the flint-and-brick hotel has an urban-chic appeal with its artfully mismatched decor, modern four-posters, leather wingback chairs and artisanal glass features. Flooded with natural light, the spa has an indoor pool, a steam room and sauna, and vegan treatments by Irene Forte. And as it’s only a mile from the sea, guests can mix it up with breezy beach romps and icy dips in the North Sea.
Rooms from £175pn, including breakfast. Spa treatments from £30, theharper.co.uk Nearest station: Sheringham
THE SPA AT CARDEN PARK Cheshire
Surrounded by a thousand acres of prime Cheshire countryside, The Spa at Carden Park is a sanctuary for the
stressed. One of the largest spa gardens in the UK, it packs in saunas, hot tubs, thermal pods and an outdoors vitality pool, not to mention loungers, fire pits and an alfresco Bollinger bar. Inside there’s a thermal suite with an indoor pool, experience showers, steam rooms and a tepidarium, plus treatments by Elemental Herbology and Oskia.
Spa escapes from £180 for an overnight stay, including breakfast, a
half-day spa garden and thermal experience, and dinner in Redmond’s restaurant, cardenpark.co.uk Nearest station: Chester
BANYA NO.1 Hoxton
Nothing says relax like being thrashed in a steam room with a bunch of leafy twigs but in London’s first Russian bathing spa in Hoxton, parenie is the signature treatment. The Russian spa ritual uses a venik of birch, oak and eucalyptus leaves, which is gently brushed over the body before you plunge into an icy pool. There’s also hot stone massage, treatment rooms and a relaxation area serving treats such as beetroot kvass, platters of crayfish and bottles of Russian Standard vodka. Three-hour spa sessions from £62, gobanya.co.uk. Stay nearby at The Z Hotel Shoreditch, which offers simple, Zen-like rooms from £50pn, thezhotels.com Nearest station: Old Street