A natural high

IT MAY be early June, but an Arctic wind is blowing from the Urals and icy rain is falling relentlessly.

Only a few days earlier, we’d been sweltering in tropical temperatures. Oh, the joys of the English summer.

But I couldn’t be further away from all this cold discomfort.

Lying on a heated bed in a softly darkened room, gentle music lulling my senses, I am luxuriating in one of the most relaxing forms of pampering – the full body massage – at the amazing spa at Oulton Hall hotel, near Leeds.

The team here are trained to help you get the maximum benefit from your treatment. They start with a consultation, asking about your lifestyle, any problems you may have – in my case, neck and shoulder aches caused by too much time spent in front of a computer screen – and how you want to feel after the massage.

This will determine which blend of essential oils your masseuse will use.

As I didn’t really want to fall asleep over dinner, I opted for an energising package, the oil a mix of English peppermint, eucalyptus and rosemary, with mountain pepper and lavender.

As the massage gets to work, the music soothes and the warmth envelopes, and I become increasingly sleepy, I begin to wonder if this is having the desired effect. But, strangely, as the treatment progresses – and this takes a full hour – I find my mood shifting and, almost imperceptibly, I become more alert and invigorated, while all the tension has gone from my muscles.

With the scent of the oils still bathing our senses, Peter and I spend a little time relaxing on sumptuous day beds, before we prise ourselves away – spurred on by the promise of a pre-dinner drink in the hotel’s Champagne Bar.

My elevated mood chimes well with the surroundings. Oulton Hall, Yorkshire’s only five-star hotel, is the height of elegance. This mid-18th Century Grade II-listed mansion, set in a 300-acre estate, is within the golden triangle of Leeds, York and Harrogate – one of the reasons why it’s the hotel of choice for Yorkshire society weddings.

Built in the North’s industrial heyday, the house had an incarnation as a hospital after it ceased to be a family home, and then fell into disrepair before being taken over the De Vere group, which has spared no expense in restoring its Georgian grandeur.

Sympathetically extended, the hotel now has 152 bedrooms and suites, all absolutely English in their design and perfectly fitting the views over the Yorkshire countryside.

The classical theme continues in the hotel’s main restaurant, the Claverley Grill, where traditional British dishes are created by head chef Dean Rodgers in partnership with some of the area’s most respected local producers. And there’s a wealth of them. Fish from the east Yorkshire coast, free-range chickens from Helmsley on the edge of the North York Moors, salmon cured in Black Sheep ale from Masham, Swaledale lamb, and beef from Stephen Knox, of Bedale.

I started with dressed Filey crab with Melba toast; Peter with fillet of beef carpaccio with Lishman’s black pudding.

His main course of roast monkfish in a shellfish chowder was simply delicious.

Mine, the Swaledale lamb braised in hay, a revelation.

For puddings: ice cream with black cherries flambed in brandy at the table, and possibly the most ingenius presentation of rhubarb crumble ever – little pots of rhubarb compote, rhubarb fool and an almond crumble to dip your spoon in. Sheer genius.

Across the grounds is the Claret Jug, the hotel’s more informal and reasonably-priced restaurant and bar, popular with families and golfers.

And it’s the golf that brings many people to Oulton Hall. Justifiably renowned for its challenging courses, the De Vere group has established yet another inspired golf resort here.

Created by past Ryder Cup player Dave Thomas, the Park 18-hole course is said to challenge even single-digit handicap players. With an additional nine-hole course, a golf academy and driving range, the package stacks up as the North of England’s leading golf performance centre.

For fitness fanatics of another kind there’s the Oulton Club, offering walks in the grounds, putting and archery ranges and the newly-refurbished technogym.

And for winding down, there’s that heavenly spa, where you can let your stresses drift away in a world of essential oils and holistic massage, with treatments from Espa, St Tropez and Vichy, ranging from facials and body wraps, to manicures and tanning.

There’s also something for the boys, with aromatherapy sports massages, holistic stress busters and rainshower massages.

You could spend a whole day simply being pampered. A real taste of the high life.

■ Oulton Hall, Rothwell Lane, Oulton, Leeds, LS26 8HN.

Tel: 0113-282-1000 deverehotels.com/ourhotels/oulton-hall Special offers include summertime packages: two nights bed and breakfast for £139 per room, and golf breaks: one night’s dinner, bed and breakfast and two rounds of golf for £89 per person.