For G’s birthday in August 2014 I decided to trawl TripAdvisor and book him a surprise mini break to the Lake District. I planned pretty much every activity and meal all based on things G loves - tea rooms, super swish B&Bs, seafood, 4x4s and sushi, to name a few.

I kept each stage of the trip a secret, only giving him the postcode for the next part of the journey as we went along. A bloody good plan, or so I thought until he surprised me by proposing in Iceland for my birthday 6 months later. Whatevs.

The Soup Kitchen

On the morning we set off I gave G the first postcode, ST16 2AW, which led us to The Soup Kitchen in Stafford, a highly recommended tea room where we would be stopping off for lunch. A huge and gorgeous old building, the only shame was that parking in Stafford is a pain and we had to keep an eye on the time before we’d get a ticket, we would have really liked to take our time and enjoy the experience.

Onto the Windermere Suites

After lunch we punched in the second postcode, LA23 2LA, which led us on to Windermere, a lovely little town near Lake Windermere, the largest natural lake in England. I’d booked us a night at The Windermere Suites, specifically in the Cartmel Suite, complete with the Romance Package - a bottle of champagne, chocolates, rose petals and twinkly lights - be rude not to, wouldn’t it?

It was because of The Windermere Suites that I decided on the Lake District at all. Their website was lovely, their suites are pimped out with the most incredible bathrooms (it was the chromatherapy lighting, oversized double air bath, walk-in double shower with LED technology and TV on the wall that sold it for me, say whaaaaaat), and they had teamed up with local activity providers to offer packages, which is how I came across the 4x4s we’d be driving around in the next day.

The suites are so decked out, that when we arrived and checked in they gave us a full tour of the room and a lesson in how to use all the tech! I can’t even describe how happy I was seeing G’s face lighting up over and over - he hadn’t even seen the bathroom on the way in, and was already blown away by the size and standard of the room and the beautiful presentation on the bed. We ended up watching TV and sipping champers in the bath until we were totally wrinkled up, the kind of relaxation you’d normally only be able to get at a spa, it was total bliss.

We’d loved our chilled afternoon but were tired from the drive up, so ambled down the road to see if the restaurant I’d booked us could seat us any earlier. I’d chosen Hooked based on the great reviews of its seafood, and how close it is to the B&B. I have to admit I was a little disappointed after all the rave reviews I’d read - little details like warm white wine and being told off for not calling earlier to move our slot as they could have filled our space later on. And it was an okay meal, but to be honest I’m not really sure how they’re fully booked every night. Anyway, we decided to skip dessert and headed back to our room nice and early, watched a bit of Grand Designs on the big TV in bed and nodded off.

Breakfast the next morning was a real treat. The Windermere Suites only serve your breakfast to your room “so you can totally relax and enjoy the privacy of a stay here”, a detail we really loved - no getting ready before going downstairs for food, only to go back up to collect your things before checking out. And it wasn’t like a normal hotel where the food is cold by the time it gets to you (I used to work in a 4* hotel and would never, ever order room service knowing how long it takes to get from A to B). I think the B&B uses outside caterers to fulfill its breakfast orders - I saw a few reviews on TripAdvisor complaining about how early you have to hand your breakfast order in (as if you don’t know which cooked and cold items you like, get a life), but we thought the service was genuinely amazing and it really works for them. And - my gluten free sausage was more than twice the size of G’s normal one, kerching!

A day off-roading in a 4×4

Once we were up and ready, we checked out of the lovely Windermere Suites, packed up the car and moseyed a few minutes down the road to Kankku. Annoyingly, G had seen it as we drove through Windermere, so he’d already guessed where we were headed, but I did have one trick left up my sleeve. Kankuu do guided tours which is the package I think Windermere Suites offered on their website, but I knew that G would love to drive one of their ex-army Land Rovers, so I’d tracked them down via Google and opted for their 4×4 Safari Self Drive package. “You mean I get to drive that?” - damn right, you do, Birthday Boy!

We were kitted us out with everything we’d need for the day, including the directions and distances to each and every junction, from the main road to the narrowest paths you’ve ever seen. We missed a couple of turns - even going around a small field as we’d seen tire marks from others clearly making the same mistake - which puts you a bit out of whack with tracking the distance to the next part. The Kankku guys have planned the route so meticulously, knowing which farmers are okay with you driving through their land and which to avoid, and they recommended a lovely viewpoint to stop for a short walk. And despite the wrong turns and the incredibly stiff clutch, G absolutely loved his present, which I think is always a relief for anyone giving someone a gift they put a lot of thought into!

Sushi in Liverpool

Back in the car, G got his third postcode - L13 0DL - he was definitely surprised to hear we were now off to Liverpewl! I had ummed and ahhed over where to go for our last night - I wanted something on the way home, a city with a bit more to see on our last day, and I ended up choosing Liverpool over Manchester as I’d heard about it becoming a European Capital of Culture and figured it was worth a shot.

After dumping our stuff at the Premier Inn we headed out to G’s fourth and final postcode for dinner - Etsu Japanese Restaurant at L2 0XJ, which specialises in authentic Japanese food. Besides being sat next to a freezing cold air vent and ordering completely the wrong thing for our starter, the main was good and taught us that if this place was getting such amazing reviews on TripAdvisor, then our local Yo! Sushi should be doing pretty well, too.

We had no idea what to expect from Liverpool, but we would definitely go back. It was chucking it down on our last day so we didn’t get to see a lot, but we did manage to wander around Liverpool ONE, stopping off at Café Rouge for breakfast and grabbing some bits from MAC before the drive back home. The major thing that struck us in Liverpool was the people - we may laugh at Northerner’s accents down south, but you really cannot fault how warm and welcoming the Liverpudlians are. From our taxi driver telling us how he had no idea where the Beatles’ houses were to the shop assistants eagerly asking what we thought of their hometown, every single person we met made our visit a pleasure and we can’t wait to go again.

Are there any gems you’ve visited right here in the UK - or have you ever visited a place with some trepidation that pleasantly surprised you? I’d love some inspiration!