I'LL BE honest, while I am not exactly the archetypal man's man, the idea of a spa day is not something that fills me with excitement.

The whole premise of spending the day in a bathrobe, surrounded by other people in bathrobes, seems somehow wrong to me.

However, my wife had been talking about going on a spa day for some time, so I decided that, in the interest of good marital relations, I should take up the opportunity to visit Aqua Sana at Whinfell Forest in Penrith, Cumbria.

While Cumbria might seem like a bit of a hike for a spa day, we found the journey to be quite pleasant - just an hour and a half down the M74 and M6 from Glasgow.

Whinfell Forest is a Centre Parcs holiday resort, and when we arrived we were directed to an overflow car park near to the arrivals gate.

Now, if you are familiar with Centre Parcs, you might not bat an eyelid at the fact that the spa is a 20-minute walk from the car park.

However, being a total novice, I had imagined a spa day to be a luxury treat and hadn't quite prepared myself for a walk in the rain.

Having said that, the setting is beautiful, nestled among the trees with the wildlife scurrying in the woodland.

Inside Aqua Sana, we were directed to the changing rooms. At this stage the warm bathrobe was accepted gratefully and we entered the "World of Spa" and the glorious heated floors.

We were shown round the "thermal spa experiences" and given times for our treatments and the daily spa rituals.

I had brought a book, thinking that I would probably get pretty bored during the day.

However, as soon as I had my first spa experience, I was won over.

The spas range in heat and humidity, from the Japanese salt steam bath and the Tyrolean sauna to the Turkish hammam.

Stepping into each one is like entering another country or stepping back in time, or both.

It is easy to imagine that you are in ancient Rome as you relax inside the gentle heat of the Laconium or that you are in the Maharaja's palace in the Indian blossom steam room.

When it was time for my spa treatments, billed as a stress-busting back massage and energising facial, I was a little disappointed to be leaving the World of Spa - I needn't have been.

When the beauty therapist had finished I felt at least a stone lighter and virtually floated across to the relaxation room.

My wife had to practically drag me out when it came time to leave.

Fortunately, she let slip that she was going to "take her time" getting ready.

So, after she went into the changing room, I sneaked back out to relax in the Turkish hammam for 10 minutes, giving me time to think about the next time we can return.

Aqua Sana at Whinfell Forest, Penrith, Cumbria

Telephone 03448 266 205

Spa day deals and the full range of beauty treatments can be found at www.aquasana.co.uk/sanaspa/whinfell