Grant Reid takes the time to explore one of those places you always see signposted while driving somewhere else and finds there is indeed plenty to amuse off the beaten track…
We opted for Alnwick afterwards, to see both castle and the new garden. It was a bit of a hike from the car park to the garden, and another to reach the castle, but at least the sun was shining. The castle, family home of the Percys since 1309, has many spectacular rooms to see and fortifications to photograph, but I suspect most of the younger visitors were far more impressed to find out a certain young Mr Potter had his first flying lesson in the castle’s courtyard.
We strolled back to the garden, an idea dreamed up by the Duchess of Northumberland. Designed by Jacques and Peter Wirtz, garden designers from Belgium, it has, at its centre, a spectacular cascade, as well as many other novelty water features. Young visitors are cleverly kept amused by a fleet of self-drive plastic tractors and more ominously perhaps, a poisonous plants garden. Water features suddenly start and stop, usually, in our case anyway, just after you move on! The garden is still under development so there are more novel features to come.
Back at Doxford we had our ‘usual’ pre-dinner swim then drink, although sadly no olives or biscuits this time. However, dinner didn’t disappoint. My better half had, in its entirety, the same dishes as I had chosen the previous evening (the menu only changes seasonally). I opted to start with English asparagus salad, with pea mousse, pancetta and fresh parmesan a very fresh tasting and light starter.
After ascertaining that the Tasting of Northumbrian ‘Lowtown Farm’ Lamb, with Heritage potatoes, roast garlic and watercress salad didn’t have sweetbreads, liver or the like, I was treated to loin, cutlets and shoulder, which was teased off the bone and formed into a tower. It was another culinary triumph.
While Doxford House Hotel and Spa could never be considered a budget choice, there are frequently good deals. For music lovers also well worth noting is that the hotel, along with sister property Eshott Hall and Guyzance Hall, hosts the Northumbrian Music Festival from October 28 to November 6. From opera to colliery bands there is something for everyone.Grant stayed at Doxford Hall Hotel and Spa, Chathill, Alnwick, Northumberland. Visit www.doxfordhall.com for more infoThe obligatory pre-dinner drink in the cocktail bar was accompanied by a selection of olives (all hers) and some moreish herb and cheese biscuits (all mine) to enjoy while we browsed the menu.
For first course I opted for slow cooked oxtail, herb crumb, black pudding and shallot puree. The oxtail had been shredded and encased in the crumb in a neat rectangular block and sat atop another neat rectangle of black pudding, with the trail of puree leading to a small salad. My wife had a pan-seared fillet of mackerel atop chorizo sausage, mussels and smoked paprika. Both were superb.
I chose pan-fried Northumbrian fillet of beef, with brown shrimp tortellini, asparagus and pink fur potatoes (not as spectacular as they sound!) for my main course, while Charmaine had pan-seared Thistleyhaugh duck breast with confit leg hash and braised celery. Once again they were both cooked to perfection and elegantly presented.
Dessert? Of course, even if there was not much room left. Who could resist chocolate and coffee marquise with iced banana parfait and dark chocolate sauce? Not me. Or crme caramel with gingerbread ice cream and brandy snap basket? Not Charmaine. Coffee and a selection of home-made petit fours served on a sliver of slate was the finale.
Worth mentioning is the excellent service in the dining room, attentive but not fussy. In fact all the staff were friendly and efficient
Clear blue skies greeted us on day two and after a very traditional and hearty breakfast we headed for the spa to experience a Lux candle massage in the duo treatment room. It might sound like some form of torture in tandem to have hot candle oil ‘drizzled’ over your back followed by a fairly vigorous massage, but it was incredibly relaxing and set us up for the rest of our day.
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How many times have you been speeding along the road to a predetermined destination when you see signs to interesting places you promise yourself that one day you’ll explore, but never do?
The A1 is like that when, for instance, Newcastle-bound, the signs flash past Seahouses, Alnwick, Lindisfarne and so on. ‘Must go there next time,’ we always say. But you reckon they are probably just too far for a day trip and a bit too close for a holiday, and consequently it never happens.
So when the chance to stay in Northumberland for a few days came about it seemed an ideal opportunity to remedy all these good intentions and see at first-hand what attractions lie just across the border.
Being sort of preconditioned to long drives to holiday destinations, the 150 miles or so from Dundee to Doxford Hall Hotel at Chathill just north of Alnwick was a doddle and erm … a dawdle … particularly through the last few miles of rural Northumberland, criss-crossed by roads all seemingly heading for the same few places. Thankfully the hotel was well signposted and we were soon safely checked in for our two-day stay.Grant stayed at Doxford Hall Hotel and Spa, Chathill, Alnwick, Northumberland. Visit www.doxfordhall.com for more infoExterior-wise think small classic stately home with formal gardens (and its own maze) and you’ll be pretty close to what Doxford is all about. It has been comprehensively extended but in such a sympathetic way it needs a second glance to work out the division between old and new. That ethos carries on in the interior, with genuine antiques dovetailed in with reproduction furniture and strangely a multitude of timepieces including the tallest grandfather clock I’ve ever seen, at least nine feet high.
All the rooms are named after local castles (ours was Warkworth) and had information and pictures of ‘your’ castle within. We were in the new part of the hotel in a large semi-circular room directly above the spa area. Ample towels, bathrobes and slippers were provided along with a selection of high quality toiletries. The bathroom boasted such nice small touches as bottled water and a jar of cotton wool balls and a nice big touch in the shape of an oversized Jacuzzi bath.
Arriving mid-afternoon gave us the opportunity to inspect the spa and have a swim and we were amazed but delighted to find we had the place to ourselves. The water was on the chilly side at first but most enjoyable after the initial sharp intake of breath, and anyway there was a choice of whirlpool baths to heat up in after. The aprs dip shower back in the room was certainly invigorating with almost enough force to knock me off my feet (yes, it really was that powerful).
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