My relaxation journey started way back in April of this year when @LuxuryHideaways was the custodian of the Farmers of the UK twitter account. Caroline and her husband Ross gave us a week long insight into their business and the farm they run in Angus just north of Dundee, the city of discovery. Towards the end of the week they ran a competition, simply re-tweet their tweet and a winner would be drawn at random at the end of the week. In for a penny in for a pound, a simple finger tapping exercise and it was done. I thought nothing more of it, then as I leant against a sturdy tree in Sherwood Forest on the Sunday afternoon and signal was available my phone went off to notify me of a tweet with my name in it? Luckily I was leant against the tree as it was to inform me that I had won a 24 hour break in the Luxury Hideaway, I couldn’t believe it as I relayed the information to my girlfriend. Once the information had sunk in, I contacted Caroline and booked our stay. It was to be on the Longest Day to maximise the experience and for me after a busy couple of weeks at Cereals and the Lincolnshire Show. So, to tell you about the Hideaways and the farm :

The Hideaway Experience
The business is a small and young business. It began in 2005 when they converted an old bothy on the farm, used 50 years ago to sleep ploughmen, into what is now the Romantics’ Hideaway. Caroline and Ross travel a lot themselves and like to stay in properties only designed for couples, with a degree of privacy, with a bit of luxury that you wouldn’t necessarily find in your own home. Since creating this first Hideaway they have welcomed hundreds of couples to stay and they began to realise how much they enjoyed meeting people from all different corners of the globe and in various stages of their relationships – just met, first holiday, marriage proposal, mini moon, honeymoon, anniversary, birthdays, or even people staying to try to put their relationship back on track.

 

In 2007 Caroline left her full time job in the central belt after having her daughter Sophie and they set about planning for what they wanted to be the ultimate Hideaway. They wanted to create something modern, more akin to a City hotel suite in the countryside, but a property which was eco-friendly and which blended into the natural environment of the farm. They also wanted something which gave privacy to couples and which was a size and layout designed just for two. It took three years for them to undertake the research, finalise the design, obtain planning permission, and obtain funding to build what are now the Honeymooners’ and Lovers’ Hideaways. They were delighted to welcome their first guests for Hogmanay 2010.

Everything you have just read is true, from the moment we arrived at the farm to enter our Hideaway we felt so relaxed in the surroundings. Only just 15 minutes north of Dundee in the beautiful Angus countryside it is so peaceful and quiet with complete privacy from the other hideaways and the farm itself, a world away from the cut and thrust of city life. Attention to detail is very evident in the hideaway, with a warm welcome in the shape of a loaf of warm home-made bread left in the kitchen when you arrive. After exploring the hideaway and its facilities which included a spa room that contained a large wet-room style shower, roll-top bath and a sauna we sat with a drink on the deck and enjoyed the tranquillity of our new found surroundings. As if we weren’t relaxed already, we had decided to book ourselves a massage, just one the many optional extras available. Whilst I was there to relax, as you would expect of me I was wandering around taking pictures and tweeting to tell the outside world how nice this place is and to compliment this blog. I have travelled across the UK and Ireland staying in many hotels along the way, mostly for just the night, so nothing more than 12 hours of which most is sleeping. 24 Hours seems like a short stay but when you don’t need to do anything and go anywhere it’s a long-time relaxing. I saw out my day after some time in the hot tub on the deck with a large dram of single malt sat listening to the silence and watching the daylight disappear.

So as not to forget that the Hideaway’s are located on a farm I had asked if I could have a tour around the farm, and Caroline was more than happy despite having only just returned from a heavy schedule at the Royal Highland Show. First I was shown a plot of land that is hopefully going to become the fourth and newest hideaway, set higher up on the farm with a woodland back-drop it will be stunning as Caroline and Ross look to offer 5+ Star accommodation and luxury to their guests, next we moved on to the farms themselves.

The Hideaways are located on Balkello Farm., Balkello and the neighbouring North Balluderon Farm are home to Caroline, Ross and their children Finlay & Sophie – they live here at Balkello. The two farms extend to 650 acres with Beef & Lamb being produced along with crops of barley, wheat and oil seed rape. To the North are the Sidlaw Hills and beyond these, the Valley of Strathmore and the Angus Glens. The Sidlaws are famous hills which start in this area and stretch all the way to the City of Perth. The highest “peak” is Craigowl which is situated directly behind and above North Balluderon and is part of their farm.

Balkello is mainly the location for crop production, with some Beef cattle which have been born at North Balluderon. Crops are oil seed rape for oil production and barley, some of which is malting barley. This year’s varieties are Propino & Belgravia and extends to 250 acres of which some goes to make whisky, and some stays to provide food for their cattle. Potatoes and Beans or Peas are grown by neighbouring farmers on rented fields. The neighbouring farm grows the very seasonal crop of Christmas Trees.

North Balluderon has around 200 ewes which are a breeding flock producing high quality lamb for local butchers and consumers. The sheep spend almost all of the year eating grass on the large area of hill below Craigowl but come inside to have their lambs during March/April. The cows, which are also a breeding herd, spend most of the year out on the same hill eating pasture. Not commonplace in England or perhaps Wales, mixed grazing is in Scotland particularly on the uplands to utilize the grazing land available for best effect. They have around 80 cows and 2 bulls one of which is a native Angus; some of the cows give birth in the Spring and some give birth in the Autumn. Fantastic traceability of food from the farm is on offer as all the Beef & Lamb is bred and born here, and lives for all its life before entering the local food chain.

So, after my tour around the farms my 24 hours in the Hideaway was almost up. I could have stayed for longer but sadly the day job beckoned and that pays the bills. Was I relaxed – YES, was it enjoyable – YES, was it worth the 300+ mile drive to get there – YES and would I recommend it to others – DEFINITELY!!

To find out more about these stunning hideaways, visit the website : www.thehideawayexperience.co.uk