Hellidon Lakes Golf Club

Two championship courses sitting alongside a proper hotel in the Northamptonshire countryside, about three miles from Priors Hardwick. Hellidon Lakes is the sort of place where you can wake up, have breakfast, and be on the first tee within minutes - which is exactly what makes it brilliant for a golf-focused break.

The Lakes Course is the more challenging of the two, with water hazards doing their job of making you think twice before each swing. The Olde Course plays a touch shorter but demands accuracy rather than length. Both are well-maintained and proper tests of golf, though neither will leave non-golfers twiddling their thumbs if they're forced to tag along.

Non-golfers can use the hotel facilities - there's a spa, a decent restaurant, that sort of thing - but let's be honest, you're coming here for the golf. Green fees aren't cheap, but this is a members' club that welcomes visitors, so book ahead rather than just turning up.

For a golf holiday in the area, it's genuinely convenient. Holt Farm Campsite is just over three miles away if you fancy camping instead of the hotel, or EWE Glamping at five and a half miles gives you something in between. The countryside around here is rolling and pleasant without being spectacular - Priors Hardwick itself is small, so you're not coming for village walks, you're coming for rounds of golf and a comfortable night's sleep.