English

FORGET everything you thought you knew about spas, this one is unlike any other – it doesn’t have white walls and you don’t have to silently tiptoe from the sauna to the hot tub.

At Ffolkes you can natter as much as you like, indulge in cocktails from the comfort of a giant hot tub all under the glow of neon lights and a disco ball.

Inside the Norfolk spa are 12 thermal spa experiences across four zones called Ibiza, Sauna, Steam and Cold – and Ffolkes suggests visitors start in ‘Ibiza‘.

The party island-themed zone has a giant hot tub with a bar right beside it, so you can order drinks without leaving the water.

It has everything you could want from beer to wine, bubbles, margaritas, mojitos, winter sangria and non-alcoholic options.

On the outskirts of the tub are heated loungers and foot spas.

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For those who want the quieter spa experience – head to Soft Play which has double loungers, bean bags, a swing and infrared heaters.

When you want to heat up, check out the three saunas – each with its own mood and scent.

The Global Sauna is the spa’s biggest and is where visitors can try a ritual and guided sessions.

The Salt Sauna is filled with the scent of sea fennel, lavender and lemon. 

And the Herbal Sauna infuses heat with botanical smells.

There’s one Aroma steam room which is infused with essential oils and the other is Eucalyptus, a calming spot where you can really clear your head.

To cool off, head to the cold plunge pool which sits between 10-12C.

Visitors can then chill off even more in the mist shower and the ice fountain.

A visit to the spa wouldn’t be complete without a treatment and here, there are many options from Indian Head Massage to facials and scrubs.

All that relaxing is hungry work – and Ffolkes offers lots of food from brunch to quirky afternoon tea.

In the mornings, tuck into full English breakfasts, pancakes, fruit salads and cinnamon rolls.

It also offers a unique afternoon tea with chocolate chip scones and homemade chocolate spread, cheeseburger sausage rolls, Korean BBQ bao buns (from £30pp).

There’s a choice of Indian food every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday evening from butter curries to coconut dahl and flatbreads.

If there’s room for dessert, tuck into a s’mores dip sharer, apple pie or even a cookie dough baked cheesecake.

The spa even has a 9-hole crazy golf course with loop-de-loops and a golf ball vortex – all inside shipping containers.

The spa with a difference in King’s Lynn opened in September 2025 and you can book in for a relaxation session.

Spa sessions start from £65 with the three-hour Twilight experience where guests have access to 12 thermal spa experiences.

It includes unlimited tea and coffee and pick ‘n’ Mix nibbles whilst in the spa.

Half-day sessions either in the morning or afternoon start from £95 which has additional post-spa food in the pub.

This is either Afternoon Street Tea (Monday–Saturday) or Pie FEAST (Sundays).

Morning or afternoon half-day spa with treatment start from £150pp which includes a 45-minute treatment.

The spa offers overnight stays for those who want to relax for more than one day which starts from £300 per night.

The brightly decorated rooms have huge beds and some even have outdoor baths in the courtyard.

The most luxe is the Spa Cabin which has a private hot tub, wood burner, sauna and outdoor shower.

For more on spas, this Bridgerton-like countryside hotel has a beautiful spa, gardens and restaurant.

And this dreamy English staycation with infinity pools, pic ‘n’ mix pantries and new spa gardens.

WHO needs to hop over to France for some wine tasting when the UK is home to some that is better?

Kent is often called the Garden of England, and is home to many award-winning wines.

This has seen the opening of vineyard massively increase in recent years, with big names including Chapel Down and Balfour.

However, a small village that has remained off the beaten track is Braebourne.

With no nearby train stations – it sits between Ashford International and Westenhanger – it is often overlooked.

Yet is is home to Braebourne Vineyard, which offers unique wines such as a Pinot Noir.

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They’ve even won awards – the 2017 Blanc de Noirs and 2018 Classic Cuvée won silver in the WineGB Awards, while the 2019 Rosé de Noirs won Bronze

Visit in the summer and you can grab a seat within the vines, as well as enjoy flights of wines alongside some snacks or even go on a guided tour.

They recently also opened Fig Cottage, a cosy home than can be rented and overlooks the vineyard.

Otherwise just down the road is The Five Bells Inn, once named the best pub in Kent.

Both kid-friendly and dog-friendly, expect delicious menus that are everchanging, from charred corn and mushroom risottos to hearty burgers.

It has a huge pub garden in the summer too, with a shaded terrace and heaters for when the temperature dips.

You can stay here too, with rooms from £115 a night.

If you need to walk off all the wine and food, there are a number of great walks throughout the nearby North Downs villages as well.

Go off road or stay on the public footpath which goes through the nearby farmlands.

Trains to Ashford International take around 45 minutes from London, with taxis another 20 minutes to Braebourne.

Here’s another English village nearby that has one of the world’s best vineyards.

Or here’s how to find the “golden triangle” of vineyards in the UK.

A LIDO that first opened five decades ago is hoping to welcome swimmers back after a three-year closure.

Popular swimming spot Stanhope Open Air Swimming Pool is raising money for repairs and upgrades needed to open its doors once again.

The once bustling open air pool in County Durham was the area’s only heated lido.

It first opened in 1974 and welcomed swimmers for 48 years before its closure in 2023.

In 2023, the lido was forced to shut after it experienced electrical issues in the plant room.

But prior to that, the lido saw more than 8,000 swimmers in 2022.

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Now, the charity looking after the pool is hoping that it will once again reopen to the public by next year.

The charity posted on Facebook about the update: “We are delighted to announce that we have agreed a new 30-year lease with our landlords. Weardale Open Air Swimming Pool first opened in 1974, with a life expectancy of 30 years.

“The hard work of our wonderful volunteers kept things going for much longer, but the pool infrastructure now needs complete renovation.”

It detailed that lots of essential works are still needed to restore the lido to its former glory.

This includes relining the pool, rewiring the whole site, refurbishing the plant room and upgrading the changing rooms and snack bar.

It added that it will need to “raise hundreds of thousands of pounds”, but locals remain optimistic.

One wrote on the post: “That’s fantastic news, loved that pool, be lovely to see it up and running again.”

Another added: “Great news, it is quite an asset to the area. Hope the future is bright!”

The charity is asking for the community and users to donate to help the cause – but is also applying for grants for the refurbishment.

The lido is 25metres long and when it was open was always heated to 27C – so it was warm even on the cool summer evenings.

It even had a springboard, so the depth of the pool was a maximum of three metres deep.

Along with the main pool was another smaller one for children which was just half a metre deep – it was also heated to the same temperature and had a slide.

Visitors were also able to use the on-site sauna, cafe and shop where they could buy dive toys, armbands and goggles.

Here are all of the new lidos set to open across the UK from seafront pools to city swimming spots.

Plus, this English lido with heated swimming pool and Full Moon swims reopened after a £120k upgrade.