My Super Fantastic Hen Weekend!

Every bride needs a hen do, and I suppose I’m no exception! With all the stresses of work and kids, I was glad when my bridesmaids agreed to organise a top secret weekend getaway to celebrate the occasion! I’m not one for strippers or Ann Summers parties, so the whole affair was rather low key, but we still managed to have an absolutely fantastic time without doing anything too crazy!

I couldn’t get the Friday off work, so the weekend started on my lunch break in Glasgow. I met my Mum for tasty tapas in Café Andaluz, before heading back to my desk until the end of the day. Of course, calories didn’t count for this entire weekend, so I unintentionally ordered ALL the cheese! I had a delicious slab of goat’s cheese, smothered in chilli and orange marmalade, a gorgeous potato bake smothered in garlic cream and Manchego cheese and some wonderful croquettes, stuffed with Serrano ham and more Manchego cheese. My Mum opted for a more varied selection with paella, meatballs and new potatoes in a tomato sauce. It’s safe to say we were suitably stuffed in preparation for the alcohol consumption later in the evening!

 

When the working day was over, I met back up with my Mum and she drove us on a magical mystery tour north, towards our secret destination – Erigmore Lodges. Hidden off the main road in the quiet village of Dunkeld were a selection of luxury lodges perfect for the occasion. We had hired two three-bedroomed lodges for the weekend which easily fit our party of 11. There was even space for an extra guest, but I’m sure Sarahjane was thankful for the double bed to herself! Both lodges had a spacious decked balcony which looked out onto the countryside and gave a perfect illusion of privacy and seclusion. Each lodge also had a fully equipped kitchen area and gorgeous bathrooms, resulting in a comfortable ‘home away from home’ feeling. I would definitely consider coming back to the area again, especially if we wanted a weekend away with friends.

 

Upon arrival, my bridesmaids had arranged gift bags for everyone. To show my appreciation, I had also organised gift bags, so we had two lots of goodies to rummage through. There were various games that were obviously geared around getting me suitably drunk, but also resulted in my semi-teetotal Mum necking a few shots in the process! A selection of banned words were pinned to the wall, and any violation carried the price of a measure of Sourz – thankfully the taste was not too vile!

 

After a suitable lie in, followed by a late morning bacon sandwich (thanks Lesley), we headed off to our next activity – a guided tour of Blair Athol Distillery. Those who know me, know my love for Scotland’s national drink, so I was delighted that they had included this in the celebrations. Given that I was wandering around with my ‘Bride to Be’ sash on for most of the day, this also resulted in double measures of all the samples, so I was suitably tipsy again by mid-afternoon!

Evening activities for the second night were revealed once we had dolled ourselves up in party gear – Karen presented each of us with a script and the investigation of the murder on the Gare de L’Est line began. Once everyone had a grasp of their character, much hilarity ensued, especially with the accents we all casually developed - Alice played the part of posh fourth husband perfectly! I ended up in a secret lesbian affair with Jackie (my future mother-in-law) and Lesley was guilty of murder most foul and only discovered by Nikki – none of the rest of us had a clue! The evening was tied up with a game of ‘Stick the Ring on her Finger’ (which I won) and a quick round of Cards Against Humanity – a must for any party night!

 

The weekend came to an end too quickly for my liking after an early checkout on the Sunday morning. I would have loved to stay longer, but I had no holidays left and my Mum was giving me a lift back to reality. Some of the others opted for investigating the local area, with Nikki particularly excited with the nearby Beatrix Potter Exhibition, somewhere I will probably visit on my next trip.
 

I’ve always known that I have great friends and family, but this weekend absolutely blew me away! So much effort was poured into making this the best weekend ever and they didn’t disappoint! I’m also hugely grateful to Steph for trekking all the way from her hometown in the south of England, especially with all the delays to her travel on the way back. I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who was involved, you all did a fantastic job - I can’t wait for the wedding now, so that I can be reunited with all you nutters again!
 

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