A Scottish spa retreat

With so many spa breaks on offer these days, how do you choose? Should you opt for one of the state-of-the-art creations being latched onto to swish city hotels? Or go for a rural retreat where woodland walks among rabbits and squirrels are as restful as the hydrotherapy pool?

Norton House Hotel & Spa is one of the latter. The spa might not have all the bells and whistles like ‘ice hideaways’, ‘aromatherapy steam caves’ and the lord knows what else but it boasts all the basics in a bright modern building with a lovely outdoor patio area – weather permitting! The weather however did not permit the weekend of our visit. Sunshine blazed in London and continued to shine throughout the journey – four and a half hours by National Express East Coast Rail from King’s Cross, a wonderfully scenic journey that made the magazines I accumulated for the trip totally redundant. By the time we wound our way up the impressive drive to Norton House, the sky had darkened and the first rumbles of thunder could be heard.

Decadent afternoon tea 

But who cares if you’re in a spa hotel! It made our afternoon tea, which we opted to have served in our room, even more decadent. The generous tea consisted of delicious sandwiches (though I did feel bad nibbling on delicately roasted beef within sight of a herd of cows), warm scones served with cream and jam, and a gorgeous selection of fresh fruit tarts and decadent pastries. All the more satisfying somehow eaten tucked up in big armchairs, wearing fluffy robes, while the rain lashed against our patio doors and the lightening flashed beyond the balcony. But the birds continued to sing through it all – hardy birds they have in Scotland I can tell you!

Rooms in Norton House range from traditional suites in the original building which dates from 1840, to executive and deluxe rooms in the two new extensions, right up to the penthouse suites at the cutting edge of contemporary design. The bulk of guests visit either for the spa or for weddings – and you can see why weddings are hugely popular given its romantic setting. (For more information on everything you need to plan your wedding, click here.)

A Scottish piper welcomes the happy couple from the stone steps at the entrance – and all the cows line up in the field behind to listen, the restaurant manager told me that night at dinner. ‘Really,’ I gasped in astonishment. When I told my partner he laughed loudly and refused to believe me – so now the cows have something of the myth-like, ‘true or false?’ stature of the Loch Ness monster.

 
Spa packages

There are a range of spa experience packages, typically including a choice of treatments, lunch and use of the spa facilities; swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool (it being a large pool I particularly appreciated the hand rail all along the edge), steam room, sauna and gym. Pool-side loungers are the perfect place to relax with a magazine – or go for full-on horizontal in the blissed-out relaxation suite.

There’s a café bar in the spa foyer and a private dining room where spa guests can enjoy lunch in robe and slippers. I padded out to the café bar in mine however, well there was football on the telly …

Lunch was delicious; more tasty local salmon, potatoes that didn’t taste of plastic bag and a huge roasted pasta dish for himself – he needed the energy for all that football. The spa is set apart from the main hotel building so there is no padding from room to pool in your slippers - not unless you want the attention of the music-loving cows and a breeze up your nethers.

Choice of dining

The hotels boasts two dining rooms – the quite formal, yet intimately cosy Usher with just eight tables, and the buzzy Brasserie, which is very stylish with lots of dark wood and banquette style chocolate leather seats, softly lit for a sophisticated atmosphere. There is a good range of dishes on the (it claims) Mediterranean-influenced menu, but more attractive to us were the local delicacies; smoked salmon terrine, melt-in-the-mouth tender lamb shank, and ‘authentic’, claimed himself, sirloin steak. Produce is locally sourced wherever possible, and it shows – a side dish of market vegetables had a satisfying bite and the mushrooms tasted like the ones we used to pick in the fields growing up. Touches like Scottish bottled water were also appreciated.

And the best part? 

 
So what was the best bit? The gorgeous brightening facial using lovely ESPA products, where my mood dictated the course of treatment, selecting the oils used in my treatment by smell? The staggering choice of malt whiskies in the glass lounge? The chilled-out quiet of the drawing room with its piles of newspapers and books on the mantelpiece? The contemporary executive bedroom with wide screen TV, DVD player, mini bar and balcony? The sumptuous bathroom with both bath and large walk-in shower, a telephone by the loo and TV to watch from the bath?

No, though all of these were great. The best bit was the early morning walk through the front gardens of the hotel, where two baby rabbits, not noticing me a few feet away, enjoyed their early morning breakfast on the lawn. Very happy bunnies – me and the ones with the long ears.

Norton House Hotel information

Norton House Hotel & Spa is part of the Hand Picked Hotels collection of 17 country house hotels.  Norton House Hotel & Spa has recently added a new spa which features a range of treatments including the new ESPA Super Active range. For more information and bookings please visit www.handpicked.co.uk

Getting there

Bernadette travelled by train to Edinburgh with National Express East Coast, which offers advance purchase return fares, booked online, from London King's Cross to Edinburgh from £28 standard class or £79 first class. Book at www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com, call 08457 225 225 or visit any staffed rail station. Norton House is a 20-minute drive from Edinburgh.