Town & Country: Multi-centre staycations with PoB Breaks

The first rule of a successful mother and teenager trip is an itinerary elastic enough to allow you both to do the things you love. In my case this means bingeing on museum shows: ‘Beyond The Little Black Dress’ at the National Museum of Scotland (until October 29th) is thrillingly curated. And if you have time, I cannot recommend a trip to V&A Dundee too highly - you will recognise the show stopping Kengo Kuma Associates architecture from that episode in Succession when Logan goes back to his Scots roots. The ‘Tartan’ exhibition (until January 2024) is truly a stand out -  radical and unexpected. For my son, the pleasure of discovering a city is more about mooching, soaking in the vibes of the street performers, or climbing the vertiginous cobbles to Edinburgh Castle to marvel at the views.

Our accommodation in Edinburgh is the sumptuous Prestonfield House (our taxi driver tells us he’s picked up Jarvis Cocker from here before). It comes as no surprise to hear that the Sheffield balladeer and art aficionado would favour the place, it’s a sensory feast. At dinner, we sit at a window table in the hotel’s destination restaurant Rhubarb, gazing in awe at the volcanic hill that is Arthur’s Seat. In the gardens below, a rhubarb patch is purportedly grown from the very first rhubarb ever to be imported into Scotland from China (hence the hotel restaurant’s moniker ‘Rhubarb'). For breakfast: My cup of three soft boiled eggs, mashed with Scottish butter and chives is comfort fare par excellence. The 16yo opts for steak Lorne sausage morning rolls. Our verdict? Simply sublime.

The next door we go through in our adventure-for-two is in the Port of Leith, a short tram ride north of the city, an area that was once Edinburgh’s industrial hub that was home to glass-making, shipbuilding, and flour milling. Though Leith has had its hard times (as any reader of Trainspotting knows), the neighbourhood is enjoying a spirited renaissance: Think the ‘Shoreditch of Scotland’, all hipster bars, cool, creative start-ups and laid-back venues.

Our bolthole for the night is as magical as it is unexpected: The good ship Fingal, a former ‘Aids To Navigation Tender’, built for the Northern Lighthouse Board, which now retired has been transformed into a floating luxury hotel moored in Prince of Wales Dock. The Tender’s makeover has bestowed an Art Deco glamour to the accommodation below deck and our pristine cabin is very handsomely appointed. Guests can view the ship’s mighty engine room and leaf through the original leather-bound engineers’ logs, all slightly surreal and wonderfully enchanting, like stepping into the frame of a Wes Anderson movie.

From Edinburgh Waverley Station, we train to Penrith, then continue our journey by taxi to Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa, which overlooks the serene and majestic Bassenthwaite Lake. Staying within the wood-panelled walls of 16th century hall is seriously sybaritic and there’s something deliciously fun about padding in our gowns and slippers to take a plunge in the pool, before dressing up for dinner in the Lake View restaurant, where the cooking and the service are superb. The hall’s expansive grounds are also home to the Lake District Wildlife Park, where we enjoy watching the charismatic lemurs and languorous red pandas (the take on conversation and animal welfare is impressive).

By Day 3 of proceedings, the quality one-to-one time has successfully cast its spell. The 16yo’s air pods are no longer perma-fixed to his skull, also my scrunched-up writer’s shoulders have fallen a good few centimetres. Creating our own itinerary, moving from one characterful, independent hotel to another has given the trip its own rhythm of anticipation, excitement and discovery and the shared pleasure of doing something that feels absolutely unique to us. “I’ve loved this trip Mum,” says my fellow traveller (unprompted!). “Same here,” I reply. In opening up the door to an adventure together again, we have also opened up our hearts and our imaginations. Slow travel - it’s the fast track to bonding with your loved ones.