Walking in a Scottish winter wonderland

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as Nora Mcelhone and family strike it lucky on a winter break in Aviemore.

D riving up the A9 on a Friday evening isn’t usually my idea of a fun time, but as we leave Fife behind and get closer to the Cairngorms, the excitement in the back of the car is palpable; there is snow on the ground – and it looks like there might be lots of it!

It’s the last weekend in November and we have been studying the weather forecast for over a week now, the promise of snow got us excited but with the sight of the white stuff on the ground as we drive through the town and past the twinkling lights of the entrance to Macdonald Aviemore Resort, the kids are thrilled.

After a quick check in, we drive to our home for the weekend, one of the resort’s 19 Woodland Lodges. The kids leap out into the snow for the first of many snowball fights of the stay.

There’s no hanging around though, and we tear our hungry tribe away for the short drive to the Steakhouse at the nearby Spey Valley Golf and Country Club. I’m slightly on edge as we enter the relatively quiet restaurant with four travel-weary and overexcited children but the friendly staff are great with the kids and the great grub puts paid to any worries.

After dinner, the lodge looks particularly inviting as we arrive back to tuck the kids into bed. Each of the Woodland Lodges has three double or twin rooms with ensuite facilities set behind a spacious double height living and dining area. There is also a small kitchen and wood-burning stove. A welcome package provides a few treats to enjoy during the stay.

The next morning, it’s off to join lots of other families for breakfast at Aspects Restaurant in the resort’s Highland Hotel. There is a stunning tall tree in the reception area, which leaves the kids wide-eyed and there is a happy buzz in the restaurant as families breakfast ahead of the day’s adventures.

Many people have clearly decided this is the first weekend of the festive period as there are Christmas jumpers aplenty and talk of trips to see Santa on the Speyside Railway’s steam train.

We head off on a different adventure though, a hill trek with the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre to meet some of their herd. We bundle the kids up in as many layers as we can muster and head to the Reindeer Centre at Glenmore to get our tickets then drive up to the Sugarbowl car park, which is certainly living up to its name this weekend, to meet the trek leaders.

Once there, Sheena gives us a rundown of what to expect during the walk and a few tips on keeping warm, especially when we get to the exposed terrain above the treeline. She is great with the kids, challenging them to carry some of the heavy bags of food that we will feed the reindeer with. We then set off on a beautiful snowy walk thorough a valley and up onto the “tundra” type landscape the reindeer thrive in.

Reindeer were reintroduced to the Cairngorms by Swedish herder Mikel Utsi, who recognised that the subarctic qualities of the Cairngorms were the perfect home for them, and Britain’s only free-ranging reindeer herd has thrived there since it arrived in 1952. Now, the Reindeer Centre offers the chance to meet these beautiful creatures at the centre or up on the hill. The trek takes around 20-30 minutes over steep but well-maintained paths.

Our four-year-old loved the snowy walk and we carried the two-year-old in a back carrier. The children were enchanted to meet the reindeer at such close quarters. The beautiful animals were tame enough to nudge us and ask for food as Sheena gave out handfuls