With perfect powder snow, craggy peaks and even reindeer, there can be no doubt that this is the perfect place for a skiing holiday. But the location of the pictures may come as a surprise.
Accessed overnight via sleeper train from London, this resort is not in the Alps, Scandinavia or Canada – but the Cairngorm National Park in the Scottish Highlands.
A lesser-known skiers’ paradise that’s close to home, the mountain boasts Britain’s highest funicular railway that trundles snow enthusiasts 3,500ft to the top of the piste to Ptarmigan Station, where a busy restaurant and viewing terrace are also located (as well as the highest postbox in the country).
Snow heaven: The conditions were perfect for skiing so long as the weather was clement
Guess where: It looks like Europe, Scandinavia or even the Arctic but it’s really closer to home
Do you want to build a snowman: Even off the mountain there was enough snow for fun
Cairngorm National Park boasts a 3,500ft funicular railway and 22 ski runs
Ptarmigan Station on Cairngorm Mountain, with skiers and snowboarders braving bitingly cold weather
Snug: The interior of a cabin on the Caledonian sleeper train from London to Scotland
A wide range of ski routes are on offer, with the longest run spanning more than two miles. These include seven green runs, six blue, eight red and one black piste, serviced by 12 different lifts.
One of four main ski areas in the Highlands – the others are Glencoe, Glenshee and the Nevis Range – Cairngorm is small in comparison to the Alps, with a vertical range of about 1,700ft. This, however, is more than enough for a decent ski, especially for beginners. Cairngorm is known as the most snowy, with a season that lasts well into April.
The adventure began when my wife, three children and myself boarded the Caledonian sleeper train at London Euston and settled into the charming, retro bunks.
Conditions were as cramped as one might expect aboard a train, but having previously travelled up to Scotland both by car and daytime train, and unwilling to shell out for extortionate airfares, the overnight journey was by far the best option.
The kids slept pretty well on the whole, despite – or perhaps because of – the juddering motion of the train and the noise of the engine. Arriving at Aviemore in the early morning, the sheer convenience of the holiday was immediately apparent.
The mountain itself, whose snowy peaks could be seen from the station, was just nine miles away, and the small town was peppered with après-ski venues, outdoors shops and activities, about which more later.
One of four main ski areas in the Highlands – the others are Glencoe, Glenshee and the Nevis Range – Cairngorm is small in comparison to the Alps, with a vertical range of about 1,700ft. This, however, is more than enough for a decent ski
Cosy: The barbecue hut in the garden of the well-appointed Coach House in Aviemore
Technique: Ski coach Ian Devenney gives Jake a pep-talk on the finer points of skiing on the slopes
Imogen, left, and Isaac, right, tried the sport for the first time and made excellent progress
Tired but happy: Libi takes a rest after a hard day’s skiing on the Cairngorm mountain
The night train: Crossing the border in style in a cosy Caledonian Sleeper train cabin
It is also home to a variety of cottages, one of which, the Coach House, we took for the week. So lovely was the accommodation that spending time there became one of the highlights of the trip.
Owned by a beautifully attentive couple who even provided ghost story advice on demand, not only was it well-apportioned and centrally located but it boasted a barbecue hut in the garden.
This, as we discovered, was an octagonal wooden sauna with an open fire in the centre, upon which food could be cooked. A bit smoky at times, but wonderfully sociable. We spent many happy hours with the children snuggled in blankets with their books while the adults turned over sausages and opened a bottle of wine.
As newcomers to the art of skiing, my three children, wife and I signed up to the snow school and arrived at Cairngorm early in the morning to spectacular scenes more reminiscent of Norway than Scotland.
Our coach, a jolly, bearded man in red by the name of Ian Devenney who soon came to be known as Ski Santa, seemed to genuinely enjoy introducing foal-legged children to the slopes. Particularly impressive was his knack of responding perfectly to each child’s temperament.
When one mentions Scottish skiing to those experienced in snowsports, they tend to pooh-pooh it as having very cold winds and overly icy snow conditions.
Neither of these criticisms were warranted, and on a bluebird day, which occurred a number of times during our stay, the skiing could be mistaken for the best in the world.
Brave: Isaac tests his nerves at The Zip Park, which offers a tail of 14 terrifying zip wires
Made it: Libi completes one of the zip wires with beautiful mountain views
How now brown cow: A traditional Highland ‘hairy coo’ on the Rothiemurchus estate
Cheeky monkey: A Japanese snow monkey at the Highland Wildlife Park
Mind bending: One of many optical illusions at the Landmark Forest Adventure Park
There was one disadvantage, however: the unpredictability of the weather. On several days the mountain was forced to close to skiers as high winds and huge snowdrifts made access impossible.
Thankfully, there were enough local activities to keep us in business. We availed ourselves of two adrenaline-pumping afternoons. The first was at The Zip Park, which offered a succession of 14 ziplines offering spectacular views of the mountains, valleys and forests. They built up in length and the final one was no less than 1,800ft long.
It was a strange experience to see one’s children being sent off down a wire and disappearing into the distance, and I tried not to see it as a metaphor for when they eventually fly the nest.
The second was the TreeZone forest obstacle course, which comprised a succession of wires, ropes and dangling logs set 20ft in the air. These attractions are available all over the UK, but not to my knowledge with wild red squirrels shimmying up the trees all around.
There was another opportunity to relish the natural side of the Highlands when we took a Land Rover tour of the Rothiemurchus estate, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the cottage.
The ‘hairy coos’, about as close to shaggy bears that cows can get with great curved horns, were a particular highlight, as was feeding the deer further up the hill. Our guide, Alph, was entertaining and informative, and probably the most thoroughly Scottish man I have ever met (not in a bad way).
A quarter of an hour’s drive south of Aviemore was the Highland Wildlife Park, home to the first polar bear cub to be born in Britain for 25 years, as well as Japanese snow monkeys, red pandas and even wolves.
Finally there was the Landmark Forest Adventure Park. Some of the climbing attractions were closed due to inclement weather but the ‘Bamboozeleum’, an installation dedicated to good old-fashioned optical illusions, was a truly bizarre and unique experience.
On a good week of weather, it seemed to me that a skiing holiday in Scotland would sit proudly alongside its European cousins. And when the snow is more patchy, there is still a lot to do – with the added bonus of freely available haggis.