Set west of Newcastle, near Hexham, De Vere Slaley Hall is just a 30-minute drive from the city, but once you're there, it feels like a million miles away.

Slaley Hall boasts three restaurants and two bars. We opted for the Whisky Snug Bar, ironically for a pre-dinner G&T, and then dined in the high-end Hadrian's Restaurant (well, we were in Roman ...