North Sea breeze

A festive catch-up with our Elgin cousins takes us an hour north of Aviemore to the Moray coast. We have a family tradition of meeting and walking along the beach at Lossiemouth, a stunning stretch of sand backed by high dunes. Lossiemouth was once an important fishing town, though now it's better known for its RAF operating base. 

Clan gathering

The weather is always milder here due to the Gulf Stream, and as we step out along the sandy shore the deep snow of Boxing Day feels a world away. 

Enjoying milder weather up north

The beach east of the old harbour is about three miles long and looking out to sea, I realise that the next port of call must be Norway. The only sight to interrupt the view is the odd container ship crossing the horizon.

Next stop Norway

The recent assault of Storm Frank has thrown up all sorts of flotsam, as well as interesting pieces of driftwood. We discover that one creative local has collected a bundle and fashioned into beachfront art. 

Study in flotsam

Mountain high

This year, all the family gathers for Christmas at our place near Aviemore in the Highlands – we make a noisy crowd, crashing around the forest for the family walk on the day. Later there are 18 of us round the table. 

We rise on Boxing Day to sunshine, blue skies, and a liberal dusting of snow over the hills. Craving some high-level adventure, we get the teenagers winter-suited and booted and meet in the car park of the Cairngorm Mountain ski area. This is Scotland's premier ski resort and everyone has been watching the sky for signs of snow. So it's busy. But most of the crowds are heading towards the funicular railway for the journey up to the Ptarmigan cafe at the top. We're walking – well… it's more than a tenner each way! 

Trekking up the poma track

We set off, trudging through deep snow up to the Coire na Ciste ridge. Spindly wooden fences – a Cairngorm trademark – do a great job of stopping the snow and gathering it into powdery drifts.  

Taking a breather

Some skiers pass by on their way down, but we can hear the cracks as their skis hit stones just under the surface. The breeze picks up as we get to the top of the ridge. We make shapes against the low winter sun, buffeted by windblown snow. 

Throwing shapes

Cold and blowy on the ridge

At the top, before we recharge our batteries with hot soup and chips, we take in the view north – all the way to the sea… 

Looking north – a perfect sky