THE PATIENTS

There are nappies and Thunderbirds toys all over the surgery floor this morning, as in traipse Mark and Lisa Crook, with young sons Harrison and Oliver in tow. “We’ve barely had a night out since Oliver was born,” confides Mark, grabbing Harrison before he strangles himself with my stethoscope. “We need a break.” What about the boys, I ask? “My mother’s promised to look after them,” says Lisa. “It’ll just be me, Mark and our first lie-in for four years.”

So where do they want to go? “Your call,” says Mark, “but we want a romantic city, not too far from home — and we really like the idea of getting there by train, although a short flight from Gatwick would be fine.”

The Crooks have a budget of up to £1,000, for three nights away.

THE CROOKS

Mark, 35, is an interior designer; Lisa, 36, is a full-time mum. They live in South Nutfield, Surrey, with their two boys, Oliver, 4, and Harrison, 21 months.

Last book read

Him: Ghost Wars by Steve Coll
Her: Bridget Jones — The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Last CD bought

Him: Employment by Kaiser Chiefs
Her: Confessions on a Dance Floor by Madonna

Favourite food

Him: Italian
Her: seafood

PRESCRIPTION ONE: Edinburgh

Two reasons I’m going for Edinburgh first. One: our couple can have a romantic dinner in London, then sneak off on a first-class sleeper from Euston, with breakfast just past Berwick. Two: Scotland’s capital is at its fresh-faced best in June, long before the festival hordes descend.

If it’s romance the Crooks require, Edinburgh’s Town House Company (www.townhousecompany.com) has a collection of discreetly sexy hotels, including The Bonham, winner of Hotel Review’s Best Scottish Boutique Hotel in 2005.

The total cost is £730: that’s £170pp for two nights, B&B, at The Bonham (0131 274 7400, www.thebonham.com) and £195pp return for the first- class sleeper (0845 755 0033, www.firstscotrail.com), which departs from Euston at 11.45pm every weekday.

PRESCRIPTION TWO: Paris

Another rail escape, this time with a three-course dinner and wine included in the price of a first-class return from Waterloo to Paris on Eurostar.

As for accommodation, Eurostar itself lists more than 500 Paris hotels that can be booked directly on its website, with £206pp per night, four-star, B&B — including first-class returns — typical of the special offers regularly updated on its home page. For something that’ll really defrost the old embers, however, the four-star Victoria Palace has elegant Left Bank charm and a wonderfully central location.

This one comes in at £914 — £318pp for three nights, room-only, at the Victoria Palace (00 33 145 497000, www.victoriapalace.com), and £139pp for first-class returns from Waterloo to Paris (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.co.uk).

PRESCRIPTION THREE: Tallinn

“The new Prague” is a tired old tourist-brochure trope, and I promise not to wheel it out now, but cobbles and castles, hip hotels and happening bars, gourmet dinners at Happy Eater prices — damn it, Tallinn’s the new Prague. June is my favourite month here, too: warm but not hot, bustling but not bulging, as it can be once the cruise ships dock in July.

EasyJet has June fares from £145, but I doubt the Crooks will swoon at the Stansted departure, so I’m prescribing flights from Gatwick and a package including private transfers. It’s £972 for three nights, B&B, at the four-star Radisson SAS, including flights from Gatwick to Tallinn. Contact Kirker Holidays (0870 112 3333, www.kirkerholidays.com).

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