Well what a great weekend that was!

Nipped over to GT’s after work on Friday for a lovely home-cooked meal before an early night as GT was up early on Saturday morning for another cheeky 20 mile run before breakfast! She’s almost ready for her seventh marathon in three weeks’ time; her third London Marathon.

So when she got back, I got up and we headed into Epsom: GT to get a pedicure and me for a coffee and porridge at Caffè Nero. Then we set off for our weekend destination…

GT was a tad hungry by now, so shortly after leaving hers (and returning to pick up some undies!), we stopped for lunch at the Bear in Oxshott. Lovely food too with huge sandwiches and excellent fillings plus some great choices of starters and sharing platters.

Then on to our hotel for the weekend: Luton Hoo where one of GT’s friends was celebrating her birthday that evening. I’d had a cunning plan and booked us a room in the Mansion House itself as I had (incorrectly) assumed we’d be eating in the main house rather than one of the other buildings on the estate so we wouldn’t need to walk anywhere or go out in the cold that night.

And we were greeted with a pleasant surprise: we were upgraded to a Mansion House Suite – usually a £500 night option – which was heroically impressive with its own sitting area, a massive bed, a lobby and separate bathroom, walk-in wardrobes, etc.

The bottle of champagne I’d ordered was there chilling in its ice bucket and so everything was great as we spent the afternoon with a photoshoot and sipping champagne. GT said she could easily get used to this! My favourite from the shoot is on my photography profiles/pages.

Time then to get dressed for dinner: GT in a new LBD and heels – GT had brought a selection of stilettos with her including the Jimmy Choos, of course – and me in a suit and tie.

We then realised that Lu’s birthday dinner was actually taking place in the brasserie which was a short taxi ride away – the hotel has a fleet of its own taxis to ferry guests around the estate – so off we went for more good food and wines with great company before heading back to the main house for a nightcap!

The next morning we had a late start with a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant before heading outside for a walk around the extensive gardens (and a quick play on their croquet lawn) before coming back for a pot of tea in their gardens in the warm spring sunshine.

Sadly, we then had to pack and head off home after lunch. A memorable weekend!