acres are the perfect place to try out a wide range of outdoor pursuits, from mountain biking to falconry. Highlights include the gundog training experience, where dog-lovers can learn how to command the hotel’s adorable, highly trained labradors. At the ferret school, children aged eight and over can learn to handle and work with these playful creatures. Gleneagles also offers the first ever junior off-road driving lessons in the UK, with novice drivers learning to manoeuvre road obstacles, log piles, sleeping policemen and a water splash on the purpose-built course. 

Finally, for young urbanites, it doesn’t get much better than The Marylebone (thedoylecollection.com). The central London hotel elevates children to VIP status and even has its own concierge service especially for kids. Guest rooms are equipped with special toiletries, board games, DVDs and treats, and there is an in-room camping experience available for bedtimes. The hotel brings the outdoors in, with tepee tent beds, an indoor camping lamp, a teddy bear, and a midnight feast of cookies and warm milk. Best of all, The Marylebone can organise private family tours of Hamleys on Regent Street, where kids can go behind-the-scenes of the toy emporium with a personal guide and enjoy interactive activities along the way. Those who book a space on to the 10am tour can even open the store to the public. Kids rule, OK?

T R AV E L

7 9 LU X U R Y L ON D ON . C O.U K

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: Gleneagles; Gundog training at Gleneagles; The Marylebone; Gleneagles OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Coworth Park; Lower Mill Estate; Otter at Lower MIll Estate; The Grove