It’s 10pm, and we’re lying on the hammock that’s built into the decking of our tree cabin.
I squint as I look up. There are so many stars. They’re like hundreds and thousands sprinkled on a chocolate cake. But one is moving. “LOOK!” I say to my husband, but he’s too busy trying to identify the plough. Still, at least one of us can say we spotted our first shooting star.
There can be no better vantage point than the beautiful Tiptoe Retreat in Northumberland’s Cornhill-on-Tweed.
This new destination is located on a 600 acre organic farm that used to grow heritage potatoes, in all their multicoloured and nutty-tasting tuberous forms.
Indeed, I used to see Carroll’s tatties on the menus of upmarket restaurants like Edinburgh’s Cafe St Honore. However, business became tricky during lockdown, so Lucy and Anthony Carroll have now pivoted to other crops, and offer holiday accommodation.
As well as a couple of more traditional cottages, you can now stay at the Brock or Howlet, which opened in January. Each sleep two and both are dog friendly.
They’re fringed by fir trees and overlook the River Till, with a fishing hut down by the water.
In the middle of the path between each new property, is the bonus attraction of a gorgeous mirrored sauna, which looks a bit otherworldly, like a space craft. It’s open from 3pm-7pm and is shared between the pair of cabins. We bake ourselves in here, shortly after checking in, and it accelerates our out-of-office unwinding so much that we already feel that we’ve been off work for a fortnight.
Inside, the tree cabins are individually designed, and we’re in the gorgeous Brock. It features accents of green, while Howlet has pops of coral.
Our living area is modern, neutral and chic, with underfloor heating, sheepskin slung chairs, a moss-coloured sofa, wood-burning stove, telly, and an open plan kitchen with all the mod-cons.
The bedroom is similarly tasteful yet practical, with a Velux window above the king-sized bed, should you want an indoor viewing of those stars.
We love the smart bathroom, which is all forest green tiles and glowing copper fittings, with products from North Berwick’s Laura Thomas Co.
Outside, and as well as the clever hammock, its deck features a barbecue and copper bath. When we fill this up, we’re a bit heavy handed with the bubble bath, and gusts of breeze start to send vast clouds of froth into the air like smoke signals.
On our second day at Tiptoe, we have a Pilates lesson with Lucy, who is a qualified BASI Matt Pilates Instructor, as holidays and tatties are not the only strings to her bow. She practises from a studio beside the farmhouse, and we head here. We go for a beginners’ session, as my husband recently tweaked his back, and is a newbie to this fitness regime. As well as asking us if we saw the shooting stars last night - YES, I say - she talks us through proper alignment, engaging the core, and we do a few classic moves, like the clam and rolling like a ball.
It’s great to have one-to-one corrections. I realise that I’ve not been doing the bridge pose quite right. Lucy encourages my hips higher, so I’m doing the full Golden Gate, rather than a half-hearted Billy Goat Gruff broken down affair. I’m glad to see that my other half, who was nervous at first, is very enthusiastic about taking his new-found knowledge and pelvic floor engagement home.
As well as these classes, there are other Tiptoe activities available, including in-cabin spa treatments, fishing lessons, wellness retreats and bread-making sessions with their resident breadmaker and therapist, Pauline Beaumont, author of Bread Therapy - The Mindful Art of Baking Bread.
However, we opted to loaf about in their games room, which is in a barn. It currently features darts, ping-pong and pool, though they have future plans to include an honesty shop in here. The destination seems to be ever-evolving.
After I’ve potted the black, we want to spend as much time as possible in our beloved Brock, though we do take a hike to the nearby Duddo Five Stones. This Early Bronze Age landmark is just a 25 minute walk each way from the country lane, where we leave the car, and which is just a few minutes from Tiptoe.
From ancient stones to bubbles, there’s plenty of natural magic at this idyllic Northumbrian destination.
And, if you’re really paying attention, you might even see a shooting star.
Tiptoe Retreat is available from £195 per night (minimum two night stay), see www.tiptoeretreat.co.uk
