The largest ski area in Britain, spread across three valleys and four mountains in the Cairngorms, straddling the border between Aberdeenshire and Perthshire.

The lifts run up both sides of the Cairnwell pass, so the skiing is on several aspects and there is usually something holding snow when the weather has been mixed. Conditions vary enormously here, far more than in the Alps, so check the report on the morning rather than the week before.

The terrain is mostly open hillside above the treeline, with plenty of gentle runs and steeper gullies for people who know them. There is no village at all. Braemar and Blairgowrie are the nearest bases, and Balmoral is close by. When it is good here it is genuinely good.