Kenny Atkinson is a Great British Chef with a Michelin Star to boot. He’s now head chef at the new 5 star country house hotel Rockliffe Hall in County Durham and Nick Harman went up to sample the delights of their Gourmet Break, admire the historical setting and avoid the fabulous spa if he possibly could.

“I’m not normally a winter sports person, to be honest. When I was growing up such a concept was foreign to our family. My father said ‘Winter? Holiday?’ in the much same way Peter Kay’s father said ‘Garlic? Bread?'” The lure of fine food and gentle, sensible fun in the snow finally gets Nick Harman on a plane to Austria.

Lime Wood had the travel, food and business press all a little bit hot under the collar when it opened at the tail-end of last year – the main reason being that it was one of the most interesting projects to launch in a long time. The newly-restored Georgian hotel is set in the deepest depths of the New Forest and looks like it could become the definitive country pile for visiting tourists.

Cliveden House is one of the most gorgeous luxury hotels in the UK and just a short ride from London or Heathrow. Nick Harman went to sample life as lived by the infamous Cliveden set in the ’30s and to eat at Waldo’s the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, one which puts the gourmet icing on the weekend stay cake.

Looking for a weekend break that combines stunning scenery, a fabulous hotel and fine dining? Us too, and always. We found it in the Peak district where the people are charming, the Peaks marvellous and the Peacock Hotel an oasis of quality service and food.

Looking for a late summer getaway? The fabulous Peak District and Derbyshire arethere to be discovered with quality hotels, superb restaurants, local produce created with care, sites to see and of course fantastic scenery. We packed our bags and headed north to check out just some of what the region has to offer the Foode on a break.