How to spend a weekend at Rudding Park in Harrogate
Lunch treats Pizza on a garden sofa? That'll be the Clocktower Terrace & Outdoor Kitchen at Rudding Park (ruddingpark.co.uk), where the chef, from Naples, serves them molten from his wood-fired oven. Somehow it doesn't feel like North Yorkshire – although we are in acres of parkland, once part of the Forest of Knaresborough and home to ancient oaks.
Dinner winner At 7pm sharp (6pm Sundays), Fifty Two opens to just 20 diners. A black-painted shipping container at the front belies a huge kitchen garden, designed by Matthew Wilson of Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time, which informs the ten-course tasting menu (£190pp with wines). We sit before the stage- like kitchen where chef Adam Degg (above, in foreground) is MC. The skrei cod and crab bisque 'tom yum' with fennel and kaffir was a favourite. The best meal I've had in years.
STAY
Rest your head What would you like? A spa room with private steam room from £487 a night? A lodge with a hot tub and generous veranda – from £428 a night based on six sharing? A cottage in the grounds, also sleeping six, from £448? Our room (from £324) had a giant bathroom full of Molton Brown products and we could sip home-brewed coffee outside in the morning sun before crossing the lawns for a 'full Yorkshire' breakfast at Horto restaurant.
Best bit The exceptional, friendly staff (no bewildered sixth-formers on weekend shifts here). The business is owned and run by members of the local Mackaness family, who purchased the estate in 1972. There's even an ornate 19th-century chapel next to the Grade I Georgian house (above) should you ever feel the need for a marriage blessing.
LOVE
Go clubbing The driving range has Trackman touchscreens so you can play the latest golfing games with your partner, even if you lack Jack Nicklaus's prowess. There's an 18-hole course for more impressive handicaps. Whatever your level, whacking a ball has real-life benefits (mostly laughter), from £7.50.
Woodland spring bathing In a huge hot tub among rhododendrons, you can wallow in chemical-free water, add a magnesium bath bomb and plaster your face with a Moorish mud mask. Champagne is served on request for those who like their soaks really messy. In the Roof Top Spa's massive jacuzzi (above), jets of natural spring water drawn from the grounds alleviate aches; while Brass Monkey ice baths induce yelps – an entertaining soundtrack for those who've merely ordered afternoon tea in the sun.
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