A bonny spot bordering on the divine

Once a bolthole for Bonnie Prince Charlie, STAN CULLIMORE visits a stunning Scottish retreat to unwind with whisky and fine food

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The spa pool

DON’T know about you, but I am a big fan of putting on my boots, firing up the satnav and heading off in search of pastures new. To seek out adventures in far-flung (not so) foreign lands. To find pretty pockets of delight in this green and pleasant island paradise of ours.

In this case, Mrs Cullimore and I decided to pack our bags and head for the hilly bits up north, to take a trip all the way up to the Scottish borders. A place neither of us knew very well but fancied getting better acquainted with.

Not quite sure why, it just felt like the time was right to take a journey up that way, to look around the soft rolling countryside, the curvaceous green corners that connect Scotland and England so beautifully. I've always heard good things about the Borders and thought it was about time to check it out for myself. Spoiler alert, it was well worth the effort. Very much so.

If you live in the South West, as we do, it is a fine old drive. Takes you all the way up the spine of England, either on the east side or the west, depending on your mood. Rather than rush in like a bull in a bookshop, we decided to take our time, stopping off for a night on the way up. Which meant we had plenty of chances to enjoy the changing landscape and towns as we threaded our way up through the Midlands, the north and kept on going until we bumped into Northumberland where we meandered through the lower edges of Scotland.

After doing some research, we had settled on staying at SCHLOSS Roxburghe, a superb upmarket country spa hotel and golf course, set in the heart of a tree-filled and decidedly stunning estate. By the way, in case you're wondering, the German word “schloss” means castle, palace or stately home, and is just about the perfect way to describes this film-set-worthy slice of real estate. It’s got filmstar looks, gorgeous grounds and enough sparkle to keep a unicorn smiling for week.