The Most Perfect Stay at North Star Club, Sancton *

Sometimes, you end up in places you don’t ever want to leave. One of those places that instantly feel like home. A tranquil getaway that gave us the timeout we needed, the quality time together that we craved and the outdoors that we really don’t spend enough time in.

That place for us is the North Star Club in Sancton.

We didn’t know we’d end up feeling this way about it, it just sort of overcome both of us when we pulled into the car park to check in.

We travel a hell of a lot. In fact, at one point already this year, I went six weekends without sleeping in the flat. So we visit a lot of hotels, spend a lot of time on the road and even less time actually together that you’d think for a couple that lives together. We often crave quality time together where we can catch up and actually be together. We find our nights after work are filled with making dinner, scrolling through Instagram and trying to keep on top of our never-ending list of things to watch on Netflix.

Sometimes, you need to just switch it all off, take a step back and really strip it down to the basics to really appreciate what you’ve got.

We didn’t know North Star Club was going to do that for us, but it did. It filled a void we didn’t even know we had.

We laughed. We walked. We cooked. We photographed. We chilled. We talked. We switched off. We bathed. We laughed some more. We drunk. We snacked. We drunk some more. And it all looked a little bit like this…

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the most lovely team member who took us over to our home for the night, Moon. We unlocked the door, had a quick tour of where and what we had within our cabin and we were left to our devices. We instantly both looked at each other and did one of those ‘bloody hell, this is amazing’ looks. We both were in awe of our little home in the woods. From that, we decided almost instantly that we didn’t want to go for dinner in the pub down the road we wanted to spend every minute we could in our woodland escape.

We jumped in the car and popped to a small supermarket down the road to gather items for dinner. Each log cabin has their own gas BBQ on their veranda so we grabbed a pack of burgers, some buns, crisps, dips and salad to munch away on and, of course, a couple bottles of wine. Before eating we wanted to make ourselves feel at home as possible so we could really make the most of our night stay and relax so we quickly unpacked our bags, hung up our coats, took our shoes off, and took so many photographs as we were still in awe of the space we had.

After settling in that little bit more, we lit some candles outside and we got our BBQ on the go. We rarely get to BBQ as living in a flat our balcony is covered over so this was a right treat for us. I love just how quick and easy throwing a few burgers on to the BBQ and adding some hummus and salad into the bun tasted. It was such a simple dinner. Ater having eaten out the three nights prior to this, it was quite a welcome break to not be sat in another restaurant.

As the wine glasses slowly emptied, we felt so at ease in our stunning cabin. We had all of the amenities we had needed to create a super memorable dinner as well as plenty of extras too. The kitchen, even though it’s tiny, really is kitted out so well. We had more than enough plates, bowls, knives, forks, glasses, and mugs to last us a whole lot longer than what we were there for. I can often worry when you’re self-catering that you will spend half your time washing up as there isn’t enough crockery and cutlery provided!

We did make a tiny error before we had even set foot onto North Star Club; you can order foodie hampers from that pub we were meant to have dinner at and they will deliver them to you so you can have fresh foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we didn’t realise this until after we had stayed the night. The menu sounded bloody delicious too; stews, steaks and plenty of homemade bread.

We left our dining area to run ourselves a bath, as when you have a bathroom as magnificent as the one we had, it just has to be done!

I’m not one to lounge around in a bath when we are on holiday but something about this place just made me switch off completely and want to take time to just stop and be with my own thoughts. I just really wished I’d packed some bubble bath as the shampoo didn’t do too well at that!

After around an hour, I was pruney enough to have to get out, as much as I didn’t want to, but there was a warm fire awaiting me in the bedroom that Mike had got burning. I love the smell of an open fire, it just makes everything seem just that little bit cosier! Oh, and the warmth they give off is pretty darn good too!

Our bed was literally perfect. It was so snuggly, just the right softness and plenty of pillows. I hate nothing more than getting to a hotel or anywhere you’re going to be staying and they give you the world’s thinnest pillow. The chunkier the better if you ask me!

We laid on the bed for hours just talking, and planning our future; talking about buying a house, talking about future holidays, talking about the money we need to save to make all this possible, talking about daft things that I feel I can only talk to Mike about as I know he realises what he has let himself in for dating me! The poor chap!

We drunk the rest of our wine and it literally was the most perfect evening. It really helped not having phone signal or wi-fi as I do love a scroll through my social media, but with not having it, it meant we actually had each other’s full attention. It was just what we needed.

We did do a crazy one though, we got up at about midnight and headed out with our cameras to take some night time shots. I didn’t really want to leave the warmth of our fire but it had gone out so we used that as an excuse to go and be creative!

Where we live at home we don’t get total darkness because of the light pollution so it’s so rare we get a chance to get out and play with the cameras with this type of shot. We were just gutted the sky had clouded over as it would have been the perfect setting to get some great photos of the stars in the forest!

We had a great time out in the wilderness but our bed called us back as we were shattered by then and had started to get a little cold!

We had a wonderful night sleep and Mike even spoilt me with a mug of Yorkshire tea, my new favourite, in bed whilst he got himself ready to grab the car so we could pack up.

I didn’t want to leave our cabin. I wanted to stay there for another few nights and absorb myself in this slow living lifestyle even more. Just one night for me wasn’t enough; there was more to talk about, more to laugh about and I certainly could of had another of those baths!

We did spend about an hour out wandering in the woods but the rain just got a little too much and we made a run back to the Woodshed.

The Woodshed is a beautiful communal area where you can sit infront of the fire, drink hot drinks, play board games and even play a few tunes on the guitar. Again, we just got lost in slow living and being in each others company. I didn’t want our day to come to an end. But all good things do have to come to an end sadly.

I left having completely fallen in love with North Star Club and as I reluctantly got back into our car for the long drive home, I felt a little bit more in love with the man sat beside me.

We have already booked our return for just after Christmas, so you can expect plenty more gloating about the three-night stay we’ve got to look forward to for the next few months.