No matter what your pre-marriage mindset – dreaming of duvet time or hoping for high jinx – there’s a hen or stag party waiting for you
Words by Beth Forsyth
IF YOU’RE FEELING…BRAVE
Fact: no hen party is complete without karaoke. Some gals (like me) are happy to grab the mic and belt out the hits after only a cup of Tetley, but for others some Dutch courage is required. If that sounds like you, head for Electric Circus. It has karaoke packages specially tailored for hen parties which include time in its private booths and drinks to keep the vocal cords lubricated.
NEED TO KNOW
Hen parties must be pre-booked and begin before midnight. Prices from £16 per person. 0131 226 4224, www.theelectriccircus.biz
…PATRIOTIC
Ever harboured a secret ambition to toss the caber or hurl the welly? If so, don your mini kilt and ‘see you Jimmy’ hat and head to Perthshire or Edinburgh where Great Away Days can put on a mini Highland Games for you. Under the guidance of kilted instructors, you’ll learn to tyre flip, toss the hammer and more, rounded off with a bottle of champers for the winning team.
NEED TO KNOW
The £35 per person cost includes two hours of fun instruction, kit and a prize-giving. 01738 840804, www.greatawaydays.co.uk
…STRESSED
Leave your cares behind by letting your hens whisk you off on a spa break to Gran Canaria. At the five-star Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort and Spa you’ll have near-guaranteed sunshine, a choice of pools to float around in and the luxurious Aloe Spa at your disposal.
NEED TO KNOW
Price start at €360 per person for two nights in a double Deluxe Room including breakfast and dinner, an Aloe Vera full body massage and Japanese shiatsu therapy. www.grancanariawellness.com
…GIRLIE
Macdonald Portal Hotel & Spa in Cheshire has just launched a Pictures, Pitchers and Pyjamas Party package, combining a fabulous spa day with the ultimate girls’ night in. It includes a treatment at the spa, access to its superb facilities and a three-course evening meal, before it’s time to head to the hotel’s very own private cinema to enjoy a movie accompanied by a pitcher of drinks.
NEED TO KNOW
Pictures, Pitchers and Pyjamas Party spa break from £105pp. www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/spa-fitness/
…FLAMBOYANT
Show off your shoulder shimmies at a unique dance class hosted at the glitzy Corinthian Club in Glasgow. Choose your theme (Grease and Glee are two of the options) and a professional dance instructor will take you through a full routine, step by step. Costumes, cocktails and canapés – those crucial party ingredients – are also included during the two-hour experience.
NEED TO KNOW
Girly Dance Packages at the Corinthian Club cost from £30 per person and up to 15 guests can be accommodated (larger parties with enough notice). 0141 552 1101, www.thecorinthianclub.co.uk
…NOSTALGIC
Embrace old-fashioned activities at a ‘crafternoon’ run by Love Vintage. At various quirky city-centre venues, hens are invited to create their own items in expert-led craft workshops. Make fascinators or frilly knickers, decorate cupcakes or teacups, learn flower arranging or make wedding stationery.
NEED TO KNOW
Most activities include afternoon tea. 0141 611 5070, www.lovevintageevents.com
…ADVENTUROUS
Treat the stag to a fantasy-fuelled send-off, travelling “beyond the wall” to the Icelandic filming locations made famous by hit TV series Game of Thrones. We can’t guarantee you’ll bump into Jon Snow, but local guide Jon Thor Benediktsson (who also guided the Game of Thrones crew on set during filming for the third series) will be on hand to regale you with tales of the Seven Kingdoms.
NEED TO KNOW
The tour spends two nights in the beautiful northern town of Akureyri surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and two nights in Iceland’s charming capital Reykjavík at the new Reykjavík Lights Hotel. From £699 per person. 0800 954 2486, www.icelandtravel.is
…SUPER-FIT
Get the right kind of ‘piste’ at Snow Factor, Braehead, where you can learn some new skills on the 1500 tonnes of real snow that make up Scotland’s only indoor ski and snowboard slope.
NEED TO KNOW
Sledging, ice slide, ice climbing, ski or snowboard packages from £29.99 to £49.99 per person, including a cocktail or German beer and Bavarian sharing platter. 0871 222 5672, www.snowfactor.com
…MUSICAL
Give Jon Bon Jovi a run for his money down at Royal Mile Recording Experiences in Edinburgh. They’ll provide the kit, backing track and lyrics, so that during a two-hour sesh in their studio, you’ll be able to sing your heart out, lay down a track and leave with a professionally recorded memento of the stag do.
NEED TO KNOW
Prices from £25 to £40 per head. All packages include CDs with digital recordings of the tracks plus photos taken during the session. 0131 556 4882,
www.royalmilerecordingexperiences.com
…WACKY
The word ‘Subcrawl’ is enough to reduce grown men to quivering wrecks as they recall the monstrous hangover it produced. However, there’s no denying it’s a fun way to take in some of the ‘sights’ of Glasgow. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a ‘Subcrawl’ will take you on a round trip on the ‘Clockwork Orange’, visiting the pub nearest the exit to each one of the Subway network’s 15 stations. Dressing up as a Lego man is obligatory. (Okay, we made that last bit up – we just needed an excuse to show you these awesome fancy-dress costumes.)
NEED TO KNOW
Brik suits, £44.99, from Fast Fancy Dress Party. All-day Subway ticket, £4.
www.fastfancydressparty.co.uk; www.spt.co.uk
…DARING
Quad-bike trekking is a fantastic way to blow off steam with your mates. Great Away Days has Yamaha ‘Grizzly’ quads waiting to propel you across the Perthshire countryside. Under the guidance of qualified instructors, you’ll start off on an agility circuit before being set loose on the big trek. Zoom round bends, zip across rural farmland and dodge through dense woodlands. Wheeeeee!
NEED TO KNOW
Quad-biking, £45 per person for an hour. There’s the option of adding sumo wrestling or archery and air rifles (extra cost), so you can make a day of it. 01738 840804, www.greatawaydays.co.uk
…LEISURELY
Chugging along on a train before putting away on a green – surely the most civilised way to spend those last few days as a single man? The Royal Scotsman’s Classic Scottish Golf Tour takes in rounds at Royal Dornoch, Castle Stuart Golf Links and other fine golf courses, all while touring on one of the world’s plushest trains.
NEED TO KNOW
Classic Scottish Golf Tour includes five days and four nights with sumptuous meals, from £5350 per person. 0845 217 0799, www.royalscotsman.com