Every morning, horses and riders from Newmarket’s 50 or so stables charge up and down a stretch of hillside known as ‘the Gallops’ just outside the town – sinews are stretched, muscles worked and sweats worked up. While it’s a tradition in racing circles that’s borderline iconic, when you’re lounging in a hot tub or gently cooking in the steam room across the road, it does seem like a bit of a faff. Part of the charm of Bedford Lodge Hotel and its none-more-zen spa is that proximity to horse racing royalty, but even if horse racing isn’t your thing, this former 19th century hunting lodge and its health club, a cocoon of chill shielded from the outside world by a row of hedges, are well worth travelling for.
After a treatment (the 90-minute personalised massage feels like nirvana), the steam room, sauna and hot tub are there to banish any remaining saddle sores of city life. With its elegant dining room restaurant and manicured lawns, the hotel itself puts a modern spin on a Georgian country house. It was once home to Lord Beaverbrook – the newspaper baron’s choice of getaway during racing season – and nowadays offers a toasty-warm welcome to both racegoers and stressed-out urbanites looking to unwind. Bedford Lodge prides itself on friendly, engaged and knowledgeable staff. Who knows? One of them might give you a hot tip on the 3.20.
