Hannah Bryan takes a well-earned break at one of Northumberland’s finest hotels

TAKING exams is never going to be the most enjoyable time in anyone’s life. So having just found out I’d passed my senior reporting exams – the journalist’s equivalent of a driving test – I felt I’d more than earned a stay at Northumberland’s Slaley Hall with my mum and sister, Holly.

The four-star Edwardian mansion, set in 1,000 acres of rolling moorland and forests, boasts three restaurants, a handful of bars and a newly refurbished spa. It feels miles away from civilisation. But in reality, it’s a few minutes off the busy A68 and about an hour’s drive from Darlington.

The resort is renowned for its two championship standard golf courses. But if, like me, you don’t know your birdie from your bogey, there’s plenty of activities to get the blood pumping, from quadbiking to zorbing.

However, the aim of my stay was a little more restrained – as much rest and relaxation as possible.

Pounding the pavements in training for this year’s Great North Run had taken its toll so I signed myself up for a much-needed pedicure at the hotel’s spa,.

The pedicure lasted almost an hour and left my feet feeling so good it seemed a shame to walk on them again.

Feeling refreshed and relaxed, we met Holly back at our room, and with a few hours to spare before dinner we chose to explore the hotel’s surrounding countryside and woodland.

After a couple of wrong turns (a few more signs might come in handy to avoid hotel guests getting lost in the woods) we were more than ready for dinner at Hadrian’s Brasserie.

We enjoyed a starter of Sardinian rosemary and sea salt flatbread, with olives and dip, followed by a Mediterranean-style tagliatelle for me and monkfish, clam and mussel Provencal, with hummus, fries and crusty bread for mum and Holly.

We returned to the brasserie for a hearty breakfast the following morning – ideal for filling up the tank ahead of a long day walking around a wet and windy Hadrian’s Wall.

We left, rather reluctantly, feeling relaxed and content, and already looking for the next excuse to return.

  • The Stay with Me package starts at £95 per person based on two people sharing, and includes one night dinner, bed and breakfast, a 55-minute spa treatment and full use of the leisure facilities, robes, towels and slippers. Single occupancy supplement is £50. To book visit devere-hotels.co.uk