Pause for fort

WAKING on the waterfront, watching the ducks and geese glide by as you languish in a super-comfy Art Deco-inspired bed complete with Egyptian cotton bedding and furs... am I selling it?

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There are four literary-themed lodges right on the water at Leeds Castle in Kent - Ian Fleming, Noel Coward, Daphne du Maurier and our one, Gertrude Lawrence.

All four were guests of the castle's former owner, Lady Olive Baillie, at some point and the lodges can be accessed via a private walkway through her Mediterranean garden on the estate.

Inside are cute little touches, like old-fashioned binoculars, handy for watching wildlife, books, ornaments and Art Deco decor. Things are bang up-to-date though in the bathrooms, which have walk-in rain showers. A floor-to-ceiling glass wall makes you feel you are truly immersed in nature.

Outside there is a bath on the deck. All very sexy in theory but perhaps not in March... I'm a game old bird so I ran the bath, poured in a bottle of the spa shower gel and stepped in.

Night-time in the lodges is heaven for insomniacs like me. Complete darkness and silence (apart from the ducks and geese).

Built from UK-grown timber with sustainability as the watchword (which might explain the not-so-hot bath) they are nevertheless an excellent combination of nature and nurture, peaceful and private.