15 WAYS TO TREAT MUM THIS MOTHER'S DAY
It's time to celebrate your mums, people! They birthed you, fed you and put up with you during your 'difficult years', so a bunch of flowers just isn't going to cut it.
Whether she's a boozehound with a perverse lust for gin, a spa-fanatic with a need for a treatment or two, or the type of woman who expects to be treated like a queen at a five-star restaurant, we've got something for everybody right here.
No excuses now, ladies and gents - get booking and make sure you're the number one, favourite child from here on in.
GET BOOZY!
Henley Gin Experience
If mum’s a gin fan, then what better way to spend a day than at gin school, where she’ll be guided through the process of creating her very own gin by award-winning Master Distiller, Jacob Wilson.
It’s all set in the idyllic surroundings of a series of restored, 18th century barns near Henley-on-Thames, which is very firmly in the posh part of Oxfordshire.
Naturally, the day starts with a swift G&T (it’s important to do your research before embarking on your own bottle of the good stuff), before heading over to the distillery to see how it’s done.
From there, mum will be plonked in front of her own, personal copper still where she’ll formulate her own gin from over 100 botanicals, under the gentle guidance of the experts.
The stills produce just a little too much gin for a single bottle, so it’s vital the distillers clear up after themselves by enjoying their concoction in one more G&T - and a delicious gin cocktail - before being handed a specially labeled bottle of their exclusive creation to take home.
Sound like the perfect day? Well, why not make it a weekend - the Henley Distillery can also organise accommodation at the neighbouring Bottle & Glass Inn for £150 a night, leaving you free to enjoy a good few more G&Ts.
Price £100pp
Henley Distillery, Phillimore Estate at Hampstead Farm, Binfield Heath, Henley on Thames, RG9 4LG, Buy tickets
Oxford Artisan Distillery Tour
There’s gin on offer over at Oxford Artisan Distillery, too - but that’s not all. A 60-minute behind-the-scenes peek at this booze palace shows guests how the distillery makes its award-winning Vodka, Gin and Rye whisky.
Naturally, mum will get to sample them all, as well as a couple of ‘partnership gins’, called Physic and Ashmolean.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the distillery’s Garden Bar provides the perfect excuse to make a day of it. The gorgeous cocktail bar, set inside an old barn and with plentiful seating outside under the trees, serves up alcohol freshly bottled from the stills next door. It’s a mere 30 minute walk to Oxford town centre, so ditch the car and enjoy a tipple or ten.
Price £20pp
Oxford Artisan Distillery, Old Depot, South Park, Cheney Lane, Oxford OX3 7QJ, Buy tickets
EXPERIENCE SOMETHING NEW!
02 Arena climb for two
Get the heart pumping with a trip to the top of the O2. You'll be able to join your mum as you both clip in to a safety wire and start the 365 metre mini-hike over the canvas roof of the iconic London music venue. Once you reach the top, you'll be able to relax and take in the epic views across the capital from your vantage point 52 metres in the air. Grab a few photos and bask in your achievement before heading back to solid ground again.
Price £84 for two people
The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX
iFly Indoor Skydiving
If you fancy giving mum a taste of extreme sports without the added stress of actually killing her, then iFly Indoor Skydiving is the one for you. She'll get to dress up like she's going to hurl herself out of an aeroplane, before leaping into a fierce headwind, where she'll float on thin air... only she'll never be more than five feet from the ground.
It'll certainly be a talking point, and if you take some pictures from just the right angle, she might be able to convince her friends at the WI that she took to the skies for Mother's Day.
Price £69.99
Locations include Milton Keynes, Basingstoke and Manchester
Sunrise Balloon flight for two
Take to the skies for a gentle float through the clouds on a hot air balloon trip over the countryside near you. This once-in-a-lifetime experience includes a full, 60 minute flight where you'll be able to gaze across the vast, green landscape or get nosey at your neighbours. Did you know Julie from number 67 has a swimming pool in her back garden? You do now!
You'll be tracked all the way by a recovery team on the ground, so wherever you land you'll be able to enjoy a glass of Prosecco before jumping in the van and being whisked back to base.
Price £260 for two
UK wide - over 100 sites to choose from, Buy tickets
30 minute flying lesson
You spent your adolescence getting lifts to town and back from mum, so now it's time you helped her dial up her skills a touch. Flying lessons! Now she can come and pick you up from the Bahamas when you've had a few too many drinks and forgotten your wallet. OK, so it might need a few before she's tackling the Bermuda Triangle, but these lessons are still the real deal. She'll be in a two-seater cockpit with a CAA licensed instructor and will get her hands on the controls as she soars into the clouds. And this counts towards the hours needed for a private pilot license, so if she catches the bug, you might be on your way to getting some free holidays. Everyone's a winner.
Price £99
Locations in Peterborough, Essex and Retford, Buy tickets
GET BLENDING!
Tea Blending Workshop
Tea connoisseurs, Bird & Blend Tea Co. are offering special blending workshops at all 12 of their UK stores to celebrate Mother’s Day. Guests will be plied with plenty of tea, as well as tea-based cocktails to ensure they’ve adequately tasted enough of the stuff to make important decisions about the herbs and flavours to cram into their own, special blend.
After a 2.5hr masterclass, all attendees will leave with a goody bag filled with samples and recipe cards and, of course, their own blend of tea for future consumption.
Price £45pp
Available at 12 venues across the UK, including Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Buy tickets
Blend With Love
Not to be outdone, Whittard of Chelsea will run their own, limited edition tea-tasting and blending masterclasses from 16-19 March.
Taking place in the fancy Holmes Hotel in Marylebone, the classes will see Whittards’ experts take guests on a tea-tasting journey through a floral Jasmine, a gentle China Rose, a malty Assam, a smooth Keemun and a fragrant Chai.
Experts will be on hand to guide mum through the tea-blending process, before pairing her creation with a Whittard of Chelsea biscuit for the ultimate flavour sensation.
The masterclass will finish with a goodie bag worth over £37 for every guest, containing their own tea blend in a personalised caddy, biscuits paired to match, Whittard of Chelsea English Breakfast Tea, a Pan infuser mug and sustainable woven Jute bag.
What’s more, mum will be able to visit any Whittard of Chelsea store with her unique recipe card to re-purchase her own, personal blend in future. Just be prepared for all of your presents from now on to include a box of tea…
Price £20pp
16 – 19 March 2pm or 4pm
The Laboratory Room, Holmes Hotel London, 83 Chiltern Street, London, W1U 6NF, Buy tickets
SPA BREAKS!
All About Mum Spa Day
This might be all about mum, but it's a spa experience you'll want to tag along for - just to make sure everything is up to standard, of course. You'll be greeted with a glass of Prosecco, which should set you up nicely for a day of non-stop pampering. Head to the rooftop hot-tub or enjoy the indoor hydrotherapy pool before heading for a private mud Rasul treatment AND a 30-minute ESPA facial each.
If the idea of travelling home after all that relaxation seems a little too taxing, upgrade to an overnight stay and make a weekend of it.
Price from £95pp - upgrade to overnight stay available
The Spa at Bedford Lodge, Bury Rd, Newmarket CB8 7BX, Buy tickets
Like Mother, Like Daughter Spa Break
Treat mum to a spa weekend where absolutely everything has been covered, from dinner and drinks to luxurious treatments - all in the surroundings of a former mill building that's been named the best eco spa in the world. And the best thing about this package? It's for two, so someone is going to have to bite the bullet and keep her company.
You'll both be welcomed with a drink to sip while you slip into your robes and slippers. From then on, it's all about relaxation - unwind in the pool, enjoy the heat and ice experience or just lay back on a lounger and do absolutely nothing.
You'll need to find time for two treatments each, and when the sun sets it'll be time to head for the spa's Bistro and Bar 1911, to enjoy cocktails and a two course meal.
And when you're done with all that relaxation, head back to your gorgeous apartment for a good night's kip.
Price from £449 per couple
Titanic Spa, Low Westwood Lane, Linthwaite, Huddersfield, HD7 5UN, Buy tickets
One Night Spa Break
Combine a spa break with a city break at the Aztec Hotel & Spa in Bristol. A stay at the 4-star hotel comes with a 25-minute Taste of Wellness treatment and guests will have full use of the spa's pool, jacuzzi, steam room and newly refurbished Himalayan salt sauna. Quite honestly, leaving all that behind sounds like a bad idea, but if you do decide to venture outside the hotel, Bristol is a vibrant city with plenty to offer, from excellent shopping to a busy nightlife. If you're sticking around the hotel, a visit to the Rosette-awarded, Curious Kitchen restaurant comes highly recommended. Price from £155pp
Aztec Hotel & Spa, Bristol, Buy tickets
WINE AND DINE HER!
The Ritz
Yes, you'll need deep pockets to treat your mum to Mother's Day at The Ritz, but she birthed you, you ungrateful swine, so go talk to the bank manager and get it sorted.
You'll be well rewarded for your effort, with a three-course Sunday lunch served inn the stunning Michelin-starred restaurant. There'll be live entertainment, too, and you'll leave with a tummy full of grub created by John Williams MBE and a special gift from The Ritz, just in case your mates don't believe you were there. The ultimate brownie point winner: If you've got siblings, this will ensure favourite child status for years to come.
Price £295 adults/£150 children
The Ritz, 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR, Buy tickets
Dine in style on a steam train
A trip to the Isle of Man - smack bang in the middle of the water between Northern Ireland and the Lake District - might seem a little extra, but it’s worth it just for the chance to dine in style on board one of the world’s only narrow gauge dining cars, while being pulled by a steam engine. The Pullman style carriage was built in 1905 and restored ten years ago - and now it’s taking centre-stage in the heritage Steam Railway’s 150th birthday.
The old train will roar through the beautiful Manx countryside as your mum is treated to either a three-course Sunday lunch, or a luxurious afternoon tea, washed down with a carefully crafted list of 14 wines, cocktails and soft drinks from the onboard bar.
Sunday lunch price £35 adults/£17.50 children
Afternoon tea price £30 adults/£15 children
Douglas Station, Bank Circus, Douglas, IM1 5PT, Buy tickets
Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea Tour
Treat mum to an afternoon tea with a twist, as this delicious treat is served aboard a Routemaster bus as it winds its way pasty London’s most iconic landmarks. The route will take her past the Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Harrods and plenty more sights, but it’s not just her eyes that’ll be treated - there’s plenty for the taste buds, too. Savouries include Feta, tomato & red pepper savoury muffin; Cucumber, cream cheese and mint finger on basil bread and Mini mushroom quiche, while sweet treats are made up of Lavender cupcakes, Rose & lychee choux and Red velvet bites. Plus, there’ll of course also be coffee, tea and hot chocolate and the classic English scones with clotted cream and jam.
Price £45 adult/£35 children
Departures between 12:00 and 17:00 from Victoria Coach Station and Trafalgar Square
Japanese Afternoon Tea at Karma Sanctum Soho
If your mum isn’t the type to swoon over a cupcake, then maybe Karma Sanctum Soho’s Japanese version might be more up her street.
Savoury dishes include Crispy shrimp, Chicken katsu slider, Hirata bun with wasabi crunchy tofu and Salmon tartare, while sweet offerings involve a chocolate and caramelised miso tart and a selection of mochi.
It’s all served in the decadent Wild Heart Bar, where funk and soul music is the order of the day, and a flight of mini cocktails including Jack Daniel’s Espresso Martini and Chambord Shot will help get mum in the mood for dancing.
Price from £42, served between 12:00 - 18:00
Karma Sanctum Soho, Buy tickets
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