Maria Court, left, takes part in one of the psychic sessions

IF you're one of those folk who enjoys curling up with Most Haunted, are intrigued by tarot cards or wonder about guardian angels, you're certainly one of many.

Believers in the afterlife are no longer considered crackpots. Indeed, a healthy interest in topics surrounding the paranormal or psychic ability is now considered mainstream.

Warner Leisure hotels have cottoned on to this by introducing a new weekend break to their repertoire of exclusive adult breaks.

It's called the Psychic School With The Psychic Sisters and I went along to the very first one, held at the historic Littlecote House in Berkshire The three-night break at one of England's few remaining Tudor Houses (or at Victorian mansion Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire) is an ideal excuse to get away with a relative or girl friend.

Not only does the house look like something out of a film set, it has lovely grounds, great spa facilities and is less than two hours away by car.

And with an introduction to various aspects of clairvoyancy, including talks and demonstrations on mediumship, as well as the specialised areas of guardian angels, tarot cards, psychometry, pendulums and aura readings (plus at least one ghost hunt, to boot) there's no chance of being bored.

Oh, and not forgetting the free archery, air rifle shooting, tennis, croquet and live nightly entertainment.

Our introduction to the Psychic Sisters came over a very enjoyable Medieval banquet in the Tudor great hall (whimples and pantaloons not required!).

Spooky goings in the atmospheric setting of Littlecote House, Berkshire

Medium to the stars Jayne Wallace proved to be a particularly charismatic and vivacious host. She is a regular guest on Psychic TV and has appeared in the Daily Mail, Mirror and Fate & Fortune magazine, but she - and fellow Psychic Sister Lindy Murray - astounded us with their psychic ability.

On the first night, a middle-aged male guest whispered to us that he had been dragged along by his wife to the event. He was a confirmed cynic but was wearing his dead father's ring just to see if anything happened.

Later that evening, our ghost walk had barely begun before Jayne homed in on this guest, saying: "We have your dead father here with us, protecting us."

This entertaining, fascinating and often moving weekend was full of incidents such as this.

And it wasn't all showmanship. On one occasion Jayne came up to me and mentioned a couple of very direct, very personal facts about my life which left me totally stunned.

I'd gone with an open mind, but with a healthy dose of cynicism too. But things happened which made it very difficult to dismiss the possibility of an afterlife.

So whether you're a firm believer, feel you need a bit more convincing, or an out-and-out sceptic, you'll definitely leave this Psychic School with a few tales to tell.

Factfile

The next Psychic School With The Psychic Sisters breaks are held at Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire, on October 17 and Littlecote House, Berkshire, on October 31.

From £339 per person, per break, based on two sharing.

Warner Leisure Hotels offers more than 600 special-interest Experience Breaks across its 13 properties throughout the UK. Other breaks range from antiques and country house tours, to bat watching, gardening, yoga, ballroom and belly dancing.

For more information call free on 0800 1388 399 or log on to warnerleisurehotels.com

9:57am Saturday 19th April 2008

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