City To Countryside In 2 Hours: 3 On Trend Weekend Getaways

At the end of the week, why not buckle up your seatbelts and head straight to the countryside for a weekend retreat? Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, as well as sharing their Shire titles, also boast a conveniently close proximity to London. This, combined with their stunning scenery, makes these spots the ideal counties to escape to.

Below is a roundup of the most idyllic hotels to stay in for a weekend away from the city.

The Mews at Sopwell House, Hertfordshire: 1 hour drive from London

Sopwell House

 Originally an old stable block, the newly renovated Hertfordshire oasis comprises 16 Mews set within the 12-acre grounds of the stunning Georgian manor house, Sopwell House.

With the choice of studio, one bedroom and duplex mews houses, each of the properties is styled in a quintessentially British manner. The glamorous retreats benefit from full use of the Sopwell House Hotel’s elegant restaurants and award-winning spa.

The Mews surround a stunning communal botanical garden with a hydrotherapy pool, designed by Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Ann-Marie Powell. Many have their own private terraces with sunken hot tubs.

Sopwell House

The Mews at Sopwell House is at Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2HQ.  For reservations, please call: 01727 864477.

Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire: 2 hour drive from London

This escape needs no introduction. Belonging to one of the most exclusive group of members clubs in the world, there’s no wonder why Soho Farmhouse has been frequented by the likes of Henry Holland, Princess Eugenie and Alexa Chung. The charming seven-bedroom farmhouse is set in 100 acres of Oxfordshire countryside and the retreat boasts a four-bedroom cottage as well as 40 additional cabins. Activities on offer include pony hacks across the fields, tennis on the all-weather courts, boating from the boathouse pontoon and football on the five-a-side grass pitch.

Soho Farmhouse is at Great Tew, Chipping Norton, OX7 4JS.  For reservations, please call: 01608 691000.

Coworth Park, Berkshire: 1 hour drive from London.

Located in acres of picturesque parkland– this luxurious country house hotel on the borders of Windsor Great Park boasts high-end style coupled with a countryside ambience. As part of the prestigious Dorchester collection of hotels, the retreat comprises a Georgian style Mansion House and self-contained converted Stables and Cottages. An understated palette of subtle colours lends an air of calm to the spacious rooms and suites. The hotel also offers a spa as well as equestrian and polo facilities.

Coworth Park is at Blacknest Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SE.  For reservations, please call 01344 876600.

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Premier Inn Search For Junior Hotel Inspectors By 13th June To Win Free Hotel Stays

Premier Inn is searching for five straight-talking youngsters to take on the role of Junior Hotel Inspector this summer.

The UK's best-loved hotel chain (according to Which? in 2015), the company is bravely asking children across the country to share their refreshingly honest opinions by applying for the title of Junior Hotel Inspector for a chance to join the Premier Inn review team.

Premier Inn has over 700 budget hotels and more than 60,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland.

All bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a king-size Hypnos bed, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi.

A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food choices for either breakfast (Full English please!) or a tasty dinner.

Premier Inn want to offer families the best experience during their stay and, with nine out of ten hotels achieving a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence from adults' reviews this year, it's now the turn of the kids to have their say too.

The Junior Hotel Inspector role will guarantee that the Premier Inn experience is enjoyed by all guests – no matter their age!

Children aged between five and 12 across the UK are being invited to apply for the role via the Premier Inn website – www.premierinn.com/juniorhotelinspectors – with an application process in place to find out why they would make a good inspector.

Caitlin & Ieuan would bring their own unique perspective to the UK Hotel Industry

Five junior inspectors and their parents will then be selected to spend the night at a Premier Inn hotel and use a specially-designed Junior Hotel Inspector's kit to deliver feedback on various elements of their stay. Inspection categories will include the dinner and breakfast menus, mattress bounce factor, staff friendliness and quality of hide and seek spots.

Each inspector's feedback will be consolidated and introduced into the Premier Inn review process to help improve its family offering.

With applications open until Monday 13th June 2016, parents and children can head to www.premierinn.com/juniorhotelinspectors to be in with the chance of being appointed to the new role. The newly selected inspectors will also win an additional two-night stay with their family at a UK hotel of their choice this summer.

A shortlist of applicants will then be requested to share a short video review of their home before the final five inspectors are selected.

The Premier Inn hotel review will then take place from Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd July 2016 – please ensure availability before applying – with the process captured through photography and video.

Children must be aged five – 12 and parental permission is required. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.premierinn.com/juniorhotelinspectors.

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Our Family UK Staycation Bucket List 2016

Now, as you know, the Hobbis family sojourns into the wilderness have basically got as far as Devon since it has taken me the last four years to muster up the energy to get my passport updated.

Selfridges, Birmingham

But it strikes me that, although the parenting rite of passage that is the Disneyland visit is on the agenda, if ever there were a year for supporting our home nations, it's going to be 2016.

Leaving aside the, to me, incontravertible proof that climate change IS beginning to affect us and the likelihood that the levels of rainfall we are seeing are here to stay, the UK has so many glorious beauty spots, places of interest and cultural quirks that exploring as many as we can should be on all our travel bucket lists.

The other side of this rather waterlogged observation is that, this year, the UK tourist industry needs our financial support more than ever.

I grew up in the 60's and 70's at a time when the Costa del Sol package holiday was in its infancy. Those who braved air travel to fly to Spain were considered very 'posh' indeed.

My Dad took a different approach.  He took his family to all of the areas of outstanding beauty in the UK. We travelled up to Inveraray and back down to Edinburgh.  We visited Keswick and Ambleside in the Lake District and marvelled at the beauty of the Lakes.  We stayed just outside York and visited its cathedral and explored the Shambles.  The Cotswolds were (and are) a favourite haunt with many visits to Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-On-The-Wold.  We saw Donald Sinden as Othello in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and travelled by boat to Hampton Court out of a dusty and overheated London.

We explored North and Mid Wales and stayed in a cottage in the shadow of the mountain, Cader Idris just outside Dolgellau.   My sister and I splashed about in the river close to the Swallow Falls at Betws-y-Coed.

My parents are from Plymouth and most summers were spent visiting our grandparents.  There were many trips on the "Dockyard & Warships" boat trip, drives to Modbury Beach and Burgh Island and drives over Dartmoor to see Widdecombe and climb up Sheepstor, hopefully (but not always) avoiding the rain.  On Lands End, the winds were so strong, we had to hold on to my mother, lest all 4 foot 11 inches of her blew away to sea.

These are all places I hope to visit with the family over the next year or two.

What my Dad gave us, I now realise, was an education about the wonders of geography and history that was far more interesting than the O level geography syllabus topics of glaciation and orange growing in California.

There are, though, many gaps in my UK travel education and places still to explore.  My grandmother, Jessie, had relatives in the West Midlands and, aside from a trip in the 80's to see Chris de Burgh in concert (even pre-"Lady In Red"!), Birmingham is a city I have yet to explore.

Victoria Square, Birmingham

It's so much easier today now that hotels have comfortable, spacious family rooms.  I remember on our trip to London in the 70's that my Dad rushed out to buy a camp bed to put up next to our hotel room's sole, rather rickety double bed.

These days, too, there is a far greater range of family friendly activities.  Around Birmingham we could visit the National Sea Life Centre or Cadbury World. Then there's the award-winning Black Country Living Museum near Dudley.  I might persuade the Husband to take the kids to the National Motorcycle Museum whilst I explore the shops in The Bullring which has over 160 shops.

Another city I have never visited is Newcastle Upon Tyne which has Europe's largest shopping centre, The Metrocentre.  It has 300 shops, an 11 screen cinema and a fun fair!

Tyne Bridge

There's the science and local history museum, The Discovery Museum, The Great North Museum which has a planetarium or the contemporary art gallery, The Biscuit Factory for starters.

Yes, 2016 is going to be a great year for exploring and I sometimes think that if you waited for perfect weather in the UK, you'd never go anywhere.

No wonder my Dad made sure we always had our waterproofs with us!

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*collaborative post

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