In from THE COLD

Lucy Thackray heads to the rugged Cairngorms in Scotland for a winter weekend of walks, whisky and roaring fires at cosy hotels

- Lucy Thackray

Walks and whiskies!' Those were my two demands as we set off to the Scottish Highlands. The latter, obviously, would be taken by a crackling fireside, as my feet thawed out after a cheek-reddening walk through unspoiled countryside. As I often say, I don't ask for much.

Neither my partner Giles nor I had much experience of Scotland beyond an Edinburgh city break; but we both had romantic images of its rolling hills and pine-fringed lochs, not to mention a food scene singing with winter produce. Roasted game, forest mushrooms, smoked fish - we would eat it all.

While the farthest-flung Highlands and Islands grab the most headlines, I'd heard about the beauty of the more central countryside around the Cairngorms. Here vast, lonely hills and mossy castles echo with tales of clans and royalty, while Scottish whisky is distilled as it has been for centuries. As the UK's largest National Park, the Cairngorms are well-mapped and signposted, with endless walking spots flagged by the roadsides - meaning flexibility for self-drivers. We could spot a beautiful landscape, pull over and set off walking.