Bracing winds, black skies and acres of oozing mud is the unappetising picture which springs to mind whenever I think about winter walks in the UK. Up until this year, I’ve always been a fair-weather hiker but a desperate desire to escape the concrete metropolis combined with a rapidly expanding post-Christmas girth drove me to desperate measures. Layered up to the nines, I braced myself for the icy blasts of rural Hampshire.
St Catherine’s Hill
As Christmas hurtles towards us, the added pressures of office party preparations, secret santa shopping and the Christmas leave battle can all take their toll on our stress levels. Feeling frazzled, I booked a well-earned trip to the Thermae Bath Spa, the only place in Britain where you can marinate in naturally warm, mineral-rich waters. What better place to seek sanctuary from the tinsel time of year.
Thermae Bath Spa
With UK bank holidays sparsely spread throughout the working year, it’s a challenge to find a day trip destination that offers both stimulation and relaxation. Royal Tunbridge Wells offers the chance to scale rocks, hike through stunning scenery and enjoy a wallow in the spa all in the space of one day. Located a mere 45 minute train ride from London, it’s the perfect day trip escape from corporate life.
High Rocks Hotel
With tube strike chaos testing my patience to the limits, I probably wasn’t the only one longing to be far from the madding crowds last week. Having had more than my fill of city living, I decided to return to the land on a day trip to Avebury in search of the mysterious stones circles. Would their positive vibrations be enough to restore my flagging spirits?
Fields surrounding Avebury
With no end in sight to our extraordinary heat-wave, you may be getting a little bored of lolling around in London’s parks. If the frisbees are fraying your nerves and you can’t quite recall what a horizon looks like, it may be time to break out the city and re-discover England’s coastline – (melting train tracks permitting). Resist following your colleagues to London-by-Sea and venture instead to upmarket Whitstable where the world really is your oyster.
The landing of the oyster
With the welcome return of warm weather this week, there’s no better antidote for work-related stress than to leave the rat race behind and take in the bracing sea air of the South Downs. Determined to blow away the corporate cobwebs and release six months of shoulder tension, I join the Trailblazer Meet Up Group for a day’s walk along the Seven Sisters.
Seven Sisters
With the office lunch hour squeezed into a schedule jam-packed with meetings, appointments and deadlines, the pleasure of going out for lunch can quickly be marred by slow service, compulsive clock-watching and a guilty dash back to your desk. To avoid reaching for the Rennies before rushing to your next meeting, why not book out the day for a luxurious lunch with a continental twist.
Ile St Louis