MOTHER’S Day is approaching fast, so how can you treat mum without excluding the rest of the family?
Try out these family-friendly spas for the perfect Mother’s Day win.
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The Barnsdale, Rutland
Lifestyle Editor Catherine Bennion-Pedley and her family found alfresco highs in England’s smallest county.
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THE PAD: This country house hotel lies a stroll from Rutland Water and has had a chic makeover – think fabric headboards, candy stripes and animal lamps.
In-room surprises include complimentary ginger liqueur and books with teddies on the kids’ bunks, while bathrooms are stocked with Bramley toiletries.
The pretty courtyard is a suntrap, while in the 1760 Brasserie and Orangery expect decent nosh, such as rare-breed pork chop with cheddar mash, apple relish and Calvados sauce, £26, and hake with samphire, clams and hasselback potatoes, £28.
Sip a Spiced-Apple Fizz, £12 – gin, spiced syrup, apple juice and Crémant De Loire – while staples like sausages, mash and peas, £9, keep the kids happy.
THE SPA: It’s dinky but new, as of last year, with a heated outdoor pool complete with stylish rubber rings, woodfired hot tubs and a dreamy glass-fronted sauna.
But our fave thing? The Highland cows grazing in the same field and distracting us from any buzz of nearby traffic.
Dryrobes for the alfresco walk over are waiting in your room and treatments are taken in a stand-alone cabin – my face glowed after The Signet 60-minute facial, £80.
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OUT & ABOUT: Rutland’s quaint county town, Oakham, is less than 10 minutes’ drive away.
Grab a chicken katsu curry hot bowl with rice, slaw and naan, £13.45, at local fave The Larder (Thelarderoakham.com).
Hire electric bikes from Whitwell, £50 each for the day, with trailers for little ones, £20, to tackle the surprisingly hilly 17-mile route around the reservoir, spying ospreys as you go (Rutlandcycling.com).
Or complete different missions with brilliant kid-friendly laser tag in the woods at Rumble Live, £18 per person for one hour (Rumblelive.co.uk).
Later, celebrate your victories with a pot of haddock smokie, £8, and generously filled homemade steak and ale pie with chips, £16.75, at The Fox pub nearby (Thefoxrutland.co.uk).
BOOK IT: Doubles cost from £115 per room B&B, while family rooms cost from £240 (Barnsdalerutland.com).
De Vere Cotswolds Water Park, Cirencester
Deputy Editor Ellie O’Mahoney and her family fell for lakeside R&R.
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THE PAD: Surrounded by the 180 lakes of Cotswolds Water Park, this large resort, just off a main road, makes relaxing non-negotiable.
Families can book two flats that open into each other, so the kids have one bedroom and bathroom and parents another, plus there’s a well-equipped kitchen.
There are also two terraces looking directly on to a lake teeming with swans, moorhens and swooping gulls.
Penhaligon’s toiletries are a welcome treat and our kids loved the buffet breakfast, where we filled up on mini croissants and organic yoghurts.
On-site pub The Old Boathouse has the most beautiful lake view – expect plates of smoked mackerel pâté, £8, followed by seared hanger steak and chips, £22.50, and sticky toffee pudding, £8.
Meanwhile, at The Brasserie we fought over the kids’ delicious breaded chicken goujons starter (three courses for children costs £10.95) despite having Dorset crab with watermelon, £14, for ourselves!
The braised beef shin with horseradish mash and wild mushroom fricassée was proper comfort food, £23, though the chocolate fudge cake wasn’t so much of a hit with us.
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THE SPA: A 50-minute relaxing face and body ritual, £90, is a fantastic start to the day.
Forget cucumber-flavoured water, order a glass of bubbles, £14, at Spa6’s champagne bar post-treatment!
There’s also a swimming pool that offers hourly slots – go early to avoid the crowds.
OUT & ABOUT: Hire tandem kayaks, £24 per hour, just a five-minute walk from your bed, and row past sweet ducklings (Cotswoldwaterparkhire.com).
The town of Cirencester three miles away has a stunning abbey, St John Baptist – our kids were fascinated by the Lego model of it inside.
Bustling Lynwood & Co is opposite, serving up excellent bacon sandwiches, £6.50 (Lynwoodandco.com).
Elsewhere, 30 minutes’ drive away, is the gem of Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens, with everything from leopards to lemurs, plus a great kids’ veggie chilli, £6.
Adult entry costs from £17.50, kids from £12.50 (Cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk).
BOOK IT: Doubles cost from £92 B&B, family rooms cost from £157 B&B (Devere.co.uk/cotswold-water-park-hotel).
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Armathwaite Hall, Cumbria
Associate Editor Jessica Wilson and mum Andrea sought out some hot-tub heaven in the Lake District.
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THE PAD: Driving up, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were arriving at a 16th-century castle.
This luxe hotel overlooks Bassenthwaite Lake, with rolling lawns down to the water’s edge and gorgeous views over the famous Skiddaw peak.
The grand entrance hall has roaring log fires, and mounted stag heads loom over cosy sofas and armchairs.
The newly decorated garden suites have king-size beds, state-of-the art bathrooms with huge tubs and power showers, plus terraces overlooking the forest.
The hotel has two restaurants – at the Courtyard Bar And Brasserie, tuck into fish and chips, £19, or a halloumi burger, £16.
The more formal Lake View Restaurant serves up dishes such as pan-seared scallops, Cumbrian lamb and grilled stone bass with asparagus, £50 for three courses.
Watching the early morning mist clear from the lake as you tuck into a hearty Full English is also pretty magical.
THE SPA: With a 25-metre pool, steam room, hydrotherapy pool and sauna, this is why you visit.
But the hidden gem is the outdoor hot tub, which sits above the forest with a phone for ordering bubbly to your bubbles, £9.
The relaxing body massage using Templespa oils, £95, left us feeling dreamy all day.
Afterwards, chill in the tree-top suite with a homemade elderflower jelly.
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OUT & ABOUT: Whisky fan? Book a fab tour of The Lakes Distillery, a five-minute drive away, and finish with a tasting of its whisky, gin and vodka.
Tours cost £20 per person (Lakes distillery.com). Or take a gorgeous alpaca for both a walk and a paddle in the lake at beautiful Lingholm Estate, where Beatrix Potter once strolled.
Walks cost £40 per adult (Alpacalyeverafter.co.uk).
BOOK IT: Double rooms cost from £236 B&B (Armathwaite-hall.com).
