Skiing in Scotland

Skiing in Scotland

You’d be forgiven for thinking a ski holiday meant hanging around for hours in airports, waiting for transfers and having to navigate your way around a foreign language.

Have you tried skiing in Scotland? They say if you can ski in Scotland you can ski anywhere, quite the claim!

There are 5 ski resorts in Scotland, 3 of which are in the Cairngorms National Park and 2 which are the most local to Great North Lodges properties. These two resorts are Cairngorm Mountain and The Lecht Ski Centre.

Cairngorm Mountain is closest to the village of Aviemore and has 13 uplifts and 32 runs. The most famous of these runs is the mighty ‘White Lady’. T-bars and pomas (button tows) get you up to the top of the runs and a specially dedicated beginners area near the base station has 2 magic carpets.

The biggest news for Cairngorm Mountain for the 2023 season is the return of the funicular railway which takes you from the base station to the newly refurbished Ptarmigan restaurant in an impressive 5 minutes, avoiding any nasty weather along the way. This can be used by snowsports enthusiasts, walkers and simply anyone wanting to experience the highest restaurant in the UK.

Here at Great North Lodges we highly recommend Free Ski for lessons, they cater for all level of skier and boarders. There are a host of places to rent equipment from in the area, including Cairngorm Mountain itself. Other local ski rental can be found at Tiso, Ellis Brigham and Cairngorm Mountain Sports.

The Lecht Ski Centre is approx. 7 miles from Tomintoul and 20 miles from Nethy Bridge. It hosts 13 uplifts including a chairlift and 20 runs with a beginner area at the base of the chairlift with magic carpet. While smaller than Cairngorm Mountain, The Lecht still packs a punch and is the perfect place for beginners. Also under the chairlift you will find a rail park, this has a variety of different rails and boxes to get your freestyle on! All equipment can be hired from the centre online and their in-house Ski School offers lessons for skiing & snowboarding.

Then of course there is the Apres ski, well they sort of go hand in hand!! Aviemore is the best known for this with bars and restaurants plentiful. We recommend The Pine Martin Bar, The Old Bridge Inn, Mambos and The Balavoulin for a swift post ski pint – all also serve food.

So whether you’re a beginner wanting to try sliding for the first time or you are a seasoned pro, you will find something for everyone in our winter playgrounds.