8 minute read
Harness your Creativity
from THE HANDLE 2024
Join the travel trend of improving or enhancing your skills while on holiday in the beautiful surroundings of a PoB hotel. Experts in their fields are bursting with know-how on everything from horticulture to cider making, storm chasing to pickleball.
Cider and Sloe-Gin Making
Imagine the scene. An old-fashioned log barn deep in the Devonshire countryside, candles flickering in old wine bottles, a log burner in the corner. We’re at Bovey Castle, where Activities Manager Hannah is ready and waiting for guests to learn all about cider and sloe-gin making –happily accompanied by a decent amount of tipples along the way. It's best experienced from
September onwards, as guests are led down from the hotel reception in the soft midafternoon sunlight, through the orchard where they gather apples. Once in the barn they set to work around a retro apple press. There are many jobs – holding the mulcher, feeding in the apples, turning the wheel, and holding the jug to collect the juice. Everyone gets a taste while listening to fascinating apple facts and participating in the process of turning this elixir into cider. There are many local ciders to sample before attention turns to the sloe-gin session. Guests experiment with the gin, sugar and homegrown sloe berries fresh from the estate and other natural flavourings, such as strawberry or raspberry. Gins from past sessions line the rustic barn shelves for guests to sample while listening to sloe-gin folklore and history.
Connecting With Nature
Nestled in the heart of rural Sussex, Gravetye Manor dates back to 1598. Its most notable owner, William Robinson, acquired the property in 1885 with its 1,000 acres. Robinson worked as The Times horticultural correspondent and is renowned as one of the greatest gardeners of all time, creating the ‘English Natural Garden’, a style now emulated all over the world. For anyone interested in horticulture, Gravetye is the place to come, with the gardens now lovingly cared for by Head Gardener Tom Coward and his team.
Produce from the historic walled kitchen garden is the driving force behind the seasonal menus. Along with garden tours, guests can also book hands-on workshops learning the art of flower cutting and arranging, dried flower displays, showstopping centrepieces and Christmas wreaths.
Head west to Calcot & Spa in the rolling Cotswolds countryside and witness the miracle of rewilding, ongoing here for more than 25 years. It all began with the transformation of a strawberry field into a wildflower meadow and expanded into entire woodlands planted with native trees that now attract increasing numbers of endangered farmland birds, such as corn buntings and linnets. Naturalist Ed Drewitt takes guests on wildlife safaris at Calcot, and further afield in the Forest of Dean. During the spring, he’ll take you out to experience the dawn chorus and educate you about birdsong. Guests can also head out with Head Beekeeper Martin Knight to learn all about the five hives.
Glenapp Castle in southwest Scotland has six hives of Buckfast bees in its stunning grounds, helping to preserve the vital part these creatures play in our natural ecosystem. The hotel’s resident beekeeper, John Rennie, looks after the bees, ensuring their health and in turn the pollination of the castle’s gardens – including the kitchen garden. Guests are welcome to take part in beekeeping, talks and demonstrations.
Artistic Inspiration
It’s not every day you walk into a hotel and find a Lucian Freud artwork in reception and a Picasso piece in the drawing room. The Fife Arms in the heart of Braemar, deep in the Cairngorms National Park, has been transformed from Victorian coaching inn to jaw-dropping five-star hotel by gallerist owners Iwan and Manuela Wirth. More than 16,000 works of art and objets have been integrated into every room, corridor and corner. Guests are invited to join a member of the team for an art tour at 4pm daily. Masterclasses include a two-hour Wild Sketching session outdoors in the garden or out on the heather-clad hills accompanied by a professional artist.
Younger guests are not forgotten here. During half-term and the summer holidays, a complimentary children’s Creative Workshop takes place in the Art Room, inspired by the art and interiors of the hotel.
Sports
Fly-fishing is the sport of choice at The Torridon in Wester Ross in the far northwest of Scotland. This renowned fivestar hotel has its own boat on Loch Damh, and up to two people at a time can be guided by expert instructors and guides from You Fish Scotland. For those who have never experienced fly-fishing, casting instruction is provided on the lawn before heading for the loch. And for full-day adventures, a delicious lunch hamper is provided.
Fly-fishing has been practised at The Torridon since the house was built as a hunting lodge in 1887 by William
King Noel. Records on display in the Beinn Bar allude to days of huge catches in both the sea and the lochs surrounding the resort. Guests might catch wild brown trout, ranging from half a pound up to the possibility of something much bigger.
Heading a little further south to Stirlingshire, it’s all about tennis. When it comes to learning from the best, you can’t get much better than at Cromlix, a beautifully restored Victorian mansion and estate in the Stirlingshire countryside, owned by tennis ace, Andy Murray and his wife Kim. The court at Cromlix is painted in the Wimbledon colours and the coach is on hand for guests to have a one-to-one with the best quality HEAD rackets and balls. Keeping ahead of the curve, the Murrays opened a new pickleball court in July, bringing the craze over from the USA. From time to time, Andy’s mother Judy Murray hosts tennis and pickleball clinics at Cromlix but you have to be quick to book them via social media.
If golf is more your thing, head further south to County Durham and Rockcliffe Hall, home to the longest golf course in the UK. There are several obstacles to overcome on this golf course, including three par-5s that are longer than 600 yards. One of the standout holes is Rockliffe’s signature 5th, which is a par-3 that requires precision to hit the small island green. Additionally, the 15th hole is a 242-yard par-3 that demands accuracy, as there is sand on the left and water on the right.
Choose between one-to-one expert tuition or come with friends or family for a group-coaching session. Kids can join the FUEL Junior Golf programme. The PMG Academy uses all the latest high-tech equipment from Trackman 4 radar launch monitors to the CoachNow app, yet it’s the experience of the coaches and the beauty of the 18-hole course here that really lifts your game.
For horse-riding enthusiasts or complete beginners, Lucknam Park near Bath is one of those rare hotels with a top-notch equestrian centre. As you approach this beautiful stone mansion through its famous avenue of trees, it’s not unusual to catch the idyllic sight of guests on horseback. Equine Connect, led for 20 years by Dawn Cameron, allows guests to learn about horses’ natural instincts and methods of communication, thereby helping their own emotional wellbeing. With around 30 horses of mixed size and capability and the stunning Wiltshire countryside to explore, there is something for all abilities, plus pony hire from the tender age of three, when parents tag along too!
And just about as far southwest as you can go, The Headland hotel in Newquay is the place to come for mastering the art of surfing. It's located right beside Fistral Beach –one of the top spots in the country for wave riding. And for true surfers, the more squally the weather, the better. In fact The Headland’s spectacular location is also a mecca for storm chasers, and the hotel offers storm-watching packages where you marvel at the Atlantic squall surrounded by five-star luxury.
Words | Jane Anderson
