Top 10 South Devon Mother’s Day Ideas
Treat Her at Lincombe Hall (well, we would say so much!)
Sometimes we all need a little TLC, and often Mum is the Great Provider of this. A spa day or treatment is a fantastic way to give back. Our treatments will recoup her energy and help her to find her flow.
The beautiful new Lincombe Spa has been carefully designed to ensure you feel completely relaxed and indulged from the moment you arrive. Invite Mum to our world of calm, to float in the leisure pool, massage tired muscles in the hydro pool, detox in the aromatherapy steam room or breathe deep in the Himalayan salt room. There are also dosens of treatments to choose from, all using products by luxury brand Temple Spa.
We also have treatments for expectant Mums. These would make a thoughtful gift to help her relax and gather strength.
Vitamin Sea
Mother’s Day is a celebratory occasion, but hordes of families out celebrating can strike a less-than-joyful note. If you prefer to escape the hustle and bustle, why not dig out your wellies and go on a coastal wander? Go somewhere off the beaten track so the two of you can gaze out at the big blue and enjoy the stillness, or the storm.
The South Devon coast is surrounded by a glassy sea of shifting light and endless sunsets. One of the best ways to explore the area is by water. On better days, Sea Kayak Torbay lead tours to hidden sea caves and occasionally past pods of dolphins. This is pure escapism.
Book Club
If you share a love of books, give her one you can both read. If you recently saw Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, it may be time to discover or revisit the original. Or you could try something more recent, like Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Being engrossed in a book has to be one of the most satisfying feelings. It’s also a nice experience to share and chat about the next time you see her.
Bake Her Day
A homemade cake is one of life’s little joys. Opening the oven to a cloud of warm vanilla and the fluffiest of bakes…it’s pretty dreamy. We love channelling our inner domestic god/goddess, but even inexperienced bakers can whip up something like this lemon and blueberry drizzle.
If this isn’t for you, try brunch. It isn’t every morning that a Mum can wake at her leisure and smell the coffee. You can’t go wrong with a stack of these easy berry pancakes or a plateful of Shakshuka topped with crumbled feta or sliced avocado.
Double Gin
Mother’s Ruin has had quite the rebrand. We’ve forgotten we ever fell out of love with this refreshing tonic, and thank goodness. It’s delicious.
Take Mum to a distillery to learn how gin is made, then get creative with your own botanical blends. We are near the wonderful Salcombe Gin Distillery (www.salcombegin.com/), who run a Gin School out of their distilling laboratory. Who knew science could be so much fun?
Of course, you could also throw happy hour at home. Alcohol-free botanical spirits like Cornwall-based Pentire Drinks (https://pentiredrinks.com/) mean that everyone can join in the fun, too.
Wreath Workshop
March is the first month of Spring and the beginning of the British flowering season. In Germany, families decorate the trees and shrubs in their gardens with colourful egg baubles to mark Easter. Us Brits do a grand job with evergreens at Christmas, but why restrict our green-fingered creativity to winter? A Spring wreath celebrates the colour and vibrancy of the first flowers of the year. This activity is as immersive and charming as making daisy chains, but half as fiddly.
4 top tips for creating a Spring wreath
1. Avoid artificial materials, especially any that contain plastic, unless you are re-purposing them
2. Do not pick wild flowers, but leave them for others and wildlife to enjoy
3. Make use of the flowers in your garden or visit a nursery or florist
4. There is no wrong way to make one! Use a template or form malleable sticks of Dogwood or Willow into a rough circle, then add foliage and finish with flowers.
Cockington Court Craft Centre
If the two of you appreciate the finer things in life, a wander around Cockington won’t go amiss. This lovely mansion and gardens dates back to the Domesday book but is now home to art galleries full of its resident artists’ work. It’s a haven for creativity and a brilliant place to source a unique, handcrafted gift for Mum.
Behind the manor house is a Tudor rose garden and walled art garden which is home to The Feijoa Project, a CIC community project for vulnerable adults, which has seen the walled art garden enhanced as a creative space for people to enjoy and be inspired in. Once you've admired the house and gardens, you can grab a bite to eat at the Seven Dials Cafe in the house.
At only a mile from Torquay, Cockington Court manor house and garden a wonderful place to walk to from Lincombe Hall Hotel & Spa.
Greenway House
Visit Agatha Christie’s holiday home on the banks of the River Dart. Christie called it a ‘dream house’; as ever she nailed the description. It is an oasis with graceful woodland and renowned camellia gardens. The house itself has a spellbound quality. The National Trust has kept it as it was in the 1950s, when Christie and her family entertained friends there during Spring, Summer and Christmas holidays.
You can picture Christie everywhere, and some of her characters, too. Visitors report an eerie atmosphere when the river mist rolls in. But it was home to one of the most prolific detective authors. Psychosomatic or not, the house was the setting for Dead Man’s Folly.
Afternoon Tea at Lincombe Hall
Afternoon Tea reworks the concept of a meal. It is an occasion, leisurely and luxurious.
South Devon does it best. At Lincombe Hall we serve Afternoon Tea in our sun-filled lounge, or in the sunny garden when the weather is kind. Sit back and relax while we bring you fresh tea or coffee and a selection of delicious homemade delicacies. But remember, cream on first.
Spa Day
Nothing is more relaxing than a spa day. You can’t fail to enjoy yourself being massaged by jet bubbles in a 10 station hydro pool.
Our spa is an exquisite space designed to stimulate your senses and invoke a feeling of deep peace. Float free in our swimming pool, breathe in the aromatic scent of our Alpine Sauna, and feel all of your tension melt away with one of our treatments.
