Northern exposure

Northern Ireland may not instantly pop into your head as the obvious choice for a spa weekend – but with luxury hotels and beautiful scenery, it’s the perfect getaway

We’re all watching our pennies and our carbon footsteps these days, so it’s fortunate you don’t have to travel to far-flung spas for a health boost and some heavy-duty pampering. There’s plenty on offer here on our doorstep – and Northern Ireland is one of the UK’s little-known great spa destinations. With its stunning coastline, there are few places in the British Isles quite so breathtaking for a getting-away-from-it-all weekend.

My trip starts in Belfast, a city that featured in the news for all the wrong reasons when I was a child in the 80s – so I’m very interested to see it now. With its mixture of imposing Victorian buildings, old-fashioned pubs, world-class hotels and trendy bars, there’s a real feeling of a modern city emerging from history. It has a friendly, welcoming atmosphere, plus all the things you’d expect from a capital city – great shopping, nightlife and historic sights. There are elements which serve as a reminder of the Troubles – including the murals of balaclava-clad paramilitaries on the Shankill estates, and the ‘peace walls’ dividing traditionally Catholic and Protestant areas – and it is unsettling, though fascinating, to be wandering round as a tourist in areas that so recently simmered with sectarian tension. It’s moving visiting Stormont, the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and site of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which put an end to the Troubles.

After my city tour it’s on to the Culloden Estate and Spa, an awe-imposing five-star hotel set in the Holywood Hills, a few miles from Belfast’s city centre. With its luxurious rooms and sounds of the capital close by, I while away a deliciously lazy afternoon in its warm circular pool, jacuzzi and steam rooms.

The next day we head out of Belfast and take a drive through some of the prettiest countryside I’ve seen in the UK. We’re making for Newcastle, Co Down, a quaint seaside town on the eastern coast, for a stay in the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa. My room looks out onto the stunning bay, edged by the beautiful Mourne Mountains. In the distance a fairytale church nestles among the trees against the crags – it’s the perfect destination for a bracing bay-side walk. Walking through Newcastle is a bit like stepping back in time – it has all the best bits of the typical old-fashioned seaside town. I sit in the jacuzzi and watch the sun set over the mountains – stunning. After tucking into a delicious meal made from local produce – seafood – it’s time for an early night.

It’s no exaggeration to say the Slieve’s spa is one of the most luxurious I’ve ever had the fortune to be pampered in. I start off by reclining in the Vitality Pool with its circulation-boosting jets – I’m the only person there and can feel all my stress melt away as I gaze out at the bay from the full-length window. Then I head for the steam room, before being collected by my therapist for my treatment. I choose a revitalising massage – my therapist uses the perfect pressure and a blend of relaxing essential oils such as lavender – I’m in utter chilled-out bliss. There’s a great menu of other treatments too, including ayurvedic hot stone therapies, salt scrubs and wraps. I could easily spend the whole day lounging around, but after a little post-massage relaxation, it’s time to head back to Belfast and the airport. I leave Northern Ireland feeling revived and unwound, with fresh-air roses in my cheeks – I’ll definitely be back.

Destination details
If you would like more information on the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa, and the Culloden Estate and Spa, log onto www.hastingshotels.com.