Rest and restoration

SMART phones and laptops may have significantly enhanced our ability to get hold of anyone 24 hours a day, but that’s not necessarily always for the good.

Let’s face it, there’s nothing more annoying than your other half answering a work-related call, or even worse, responding to a workrelated email when you’re supposed to be enjoying quality time together on a weekend away.

There are various solutions to the aforementioned workaholic – persuade them to switch off the offending device; even better, get them to leave it at home. If they stubbornly refuse to co-operate, get sneaky and find somewhere rural and remote so their chances of getting a 3G signal are limited.

Capheaton Hall might just fit the bill here.

A hidden gem, it’s beautiful, set in stunning Northumberland countryside and is only 20 miles north of Newcastle – far enough to make you feel as though you’ve got away from it all, but close enough to be convenient.

The hall, owned by Will Browne-Swinburne and his wife, Eliza, has been in Will’s family since the 14th Century, although the house was completely rebuilt in 1668 by the Catholic royalist Swinburne family, during the Restoration period after Charles II was restored to the throne.

Regarded as a fine example of Restoration architecture, the house had two wings added during the Georgian period, when the original back of the house became the front, and a huge area was landscaped to create the stunning pastoral parkland which is typical of this era.

Will inherited the hall when he was working in advertising in London, and moved his family up to Northumberland in a bid to keep it alive. With Will working away for most of the week, Eliza decided she needed a project which she could do from home, and opted to start a luxury bed and breakfast.

The family now live in the east wing, where they offer bed and breakfast, and have also restored the west wing, which is available for selfcatering lets and sleeps up to eight in four double bedrooms, with three bathrooms.

We arrived in the dark, locating the impressive- looking house (in the hamlet of Capheaton, between Belsay and Kirkharle on the A696) pretty easily considering my complete lack of navigation skills.

When we pulled up, we were warmly greeted by Eliza and Will, who ushered us inside and showed us to our room, a beautifully decorated mini-suite, with a fantastically comfortable four-poster bed. The room was spotlessly clean and absolutely charming, with Eliza managing to decorate it in such a way that the hall’s antiques and historical features, including an impressive roll-top bath, seamlessly fitted alongside the tasteful contemporary soft furnishings and fixtures. Nice little touches, including rosescented hand-made toiletries, soft white cotton bathrobes and impeccable fluffy white towels upped the luxury factor. Facilities including a radio, flat-screen TV and DVD player, a selection of books and DVDs, and tea and coffee making facilities meant there was pretty much everything you needed for a relaxing, low-key weekend away.

We decided to have our supper at the hall that evening and were treated to a delicious home-cooked, three-course dinner served with the family silver and napkins in the stunning dining room. We were presented with a lovely apple and walnut salad followed by a hearty dish of chicken with garlic, pine nuts and saffron with rice and vegetables, and a scrumptious, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate torte, with cheese and biscuits to finish.

After dinner, we had a drink with the charming, welcoming couple in their sitting room, which like the rest of the house, effortlessly marries modern and traditional elements.

We retired to bed for an extremely comfortable night’s sleep. When we opened the curtains the next morning, we were in for a treat: the room looks out over the miles of parkland created during the Georgian period, an absolutely stunning view.

Breakfast, again cooked and served by Eliza in the dining room, was as delicious as the previous evening’s dinner, with a tasty homemade jams and marmalades. We enjoyed a full English with plenty of tea and toast – a great start to the day – and cereal, fruit and yoghurt are also available to guests, all freshly prepared by Eliza.

During the day, there’s plenty to do at Capheaton – walks in the parkland, fishing in the lake. Guests can bring their own horses or bikes to explore. The house itself has a wellstocked kitchen garden, where Eliza grows much of the fruit and vegetables she serves at the hall, as well as private tennis courts, stables and a conservatory.

We had an altogether more extreme activity in mind – a visit to Go Ape at nearby Matfen Hall, which is out towards Hexham and consists of a series of bridges, pulleys, tarzan swings and zip slides in the tree tops – basically an obstacle course 20ft off the ground.

After a short training session, where we were talked through the virtually fool-proof safety system before carrying out a series of exercises at ground level, we were let loose on the course.

I can only describe it as absolutely brilliant fun and a wonderful adrenaline rush. It is well worth a visit, particularly if you have hard-toplease teenagers, although anyone with a fear of heights should probably avoid it.

Back at the hall, we washed and changed before dinner, which Eliza had kindly booked for us at a local pub. We returned a few hours later, and retired to bed for another wonderfully refreshing night’s sleep in the comfortable room.

The next morning, we had our third delicious meal of the weekend in Capheaton Hall dining room, before departing after a really wonderful weekend.

If you’re looking to quite literally get away from it all, without completely cutting yourself off from civilisation, it’s difficult to think of a better place than Capheaton Hall. It’s beautiful, relaxing, well-presented and thought-out, and Eliza and Will are delightful and interested, without being intrusive.

There are plenty of places to walk, cycle and ride, some of the most beautifully rugged coastline in the country, and lots of pretty market towns and tourist attractions to visit if you fancy something less active. You truly do feel like you’re a world away from the nine to five.

Best of all, it’s pretty much impossible to get a 3G signal there.

• Capheaton Hall, Capheaton, Northumberland NE19 2AB. To book: E: elizab-s@hotmail.co.uk; T: 01830-530159 or 079000-13269.