 Poster: A snowHead
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Given our kids have different half terms this year we are stuck with Easter skiing, but looking at the snow out there, it is feeling such a long time till we go mid-April.
So it started us thinking? Could we do a ski weekend in Scotland? We are close Bournemouth or Southampton? Can we fly up anywhere close to the ski resorts, on a Friday night, ski Saturday / Sunday, coming back Sunday evening? Any body done it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Scotland looks a bit hit or miss.
Someone else pointed this lot out which do weekends, might be an option and might suit better if you could get to one of their pick ups easily.
https://www.skicoachinnovations.com/
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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my daughter gets car sick, so idea of all night in a car. Idea of Scotland being as an adhoc, if snow looks good heading up there. But not certain how feasible that actually is. How close you can get by plane, how much accommodation is relatively close.
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Surely the cost/effort would be the same to go to the alps? Plenty of places within an easy drive of an airport and go where the snow/sun is.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@NickyJ, Is there much of an advantage to going to Scotland? If you have to fly anyway why not try and get a cheap flight to GVA or somewhere and then a short transfer to Flaine or somewhere close. Probably a little more expensive, but not massively so, and then you get guaranteed snow and probably better weather with fewer crowds. Maybe rent a car and stay down the mountain to save money?
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Scotland is great for a weekend.
Nevis Range and Glencoe have the steepest skiing. Cairngorm is a good allrounder.
But snow conditions this year in Scotland are a disaster.
Dec and Jan were snowless. Feb so far has had only a sprinkle.
The chances of good snow and skiing in Apr this year are practically zero (no Winter base has formed to last into Spring).
If you do go, book very lastminute.
Conditions can be very changeable.
For example, book Thurs, fly Fri.
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@NickyJ, Given where you live I think a last minute weekend in the alps would be quicker, and more snow sure much as I love skiing in Scotland. I also don't think you can plan ahead, you have to go when the conditions and forecast are good, often I'll make a decision 24-48 hours before if I go.
If you could get flights to Glasgow, you are looking at a 3 hour drive to Fort William (which is a beautiful drive!).
The nearest airports to the Cairngorms National Park are at Aberdeen and Inverness, which is then a sub 2 hour drive to Aviemore village for Aberdeen and <1 hour from Inverness.
A quick check on the premier inn website shows a family room in April for £71 a night
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Thanks all. This is the sort of thing I was wondering if it was feasible. I must admit I assumed it would be quicker / easier than a trip to the alps. Must look into that further.
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@NickyJ, The statistics are interesting:
Bournemouth to Inverness = 477 miles
Bournemouth to Geneva = 482 miles
Additional flying time to GVA = 1 minute !!
Also transfer times much less for GVA.
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@NickyJ, forget Scotland, apart from last minute conditions are good we can go now Scotland is not a ski holiday destination. Yes on a given day parts of it can be as good as if not better than anywhere else in the world but pretty booking is a non starter.
Go to somewhere in the Alps!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@NickyJ, yes, probably not worth booking a ski holiday in Scotland in advance. Though booking a holiday in Scotland with an option to go skiing if conditions turn out OK is an idea. Lots of other things to do near the ski centres besides skiing.
However, if you only want to ski...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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A mix of sense and total nonsense, sometimes in the same post. The first paragraph from @kitenski and the last sentence from @Whitegold are correct.
But @Whitegold obviously doesn't remember 2006 or 2012. Rubbish seasons with great skiing in April. No Scottish area opened at all in March 2012 but there were great conditions in April and May.
There are plenty of challenges to skiing in Scotland but the transfer from Inverness Airport is not a major one. 48miles to Coire Cas carpark, the first 41 on trunk roads where they drive on the left and all the road signs look like home! Well under an hour to Aviemore. Not sure which ski areas @foxtrotzulu is thinking of that have easier transfers from GVA?
I'm not sure there is a feasible way up to any Scottish ski area from Hampshire though. Flying and last minute don't really go that well together. It's only worth going when conditions are right, and often they aren't. Loads of cheap accommodation nearby though.
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I have a made a start at looking at flights, and I haven't yet found any Friday evening flights to GVA from Southampton or bournemouth. There is an evening route (change at Manchester) to inverness.
I am not trying to go to Scotland in April, I was wondering if last minute in either Feb or early march was feasible as a family. Weekend needed as children are in school with very little correspondence on holiday dates or inset days.
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You know it makes sense.
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Another point about weekend skiing is that, if conditions are good, certainly before April, the Scottish ski areas will be very busy - weekends are by far the busiest times. In contrast, isn't Saturday normally the quietest day in most alpine resorts?
Our short break in Aviemore last February ended up with us buying mountain bikes for the family. Didn't actually do any skiing.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Just exploring the weekend away further, GVA isn't feasible due to know Friday flights from Bournemouth or Southampton. However Munich is almost possible, Friday evening flight out but no Sunday evening flight back (lunchtime only which would give us just one day). Munich has skiing at under 2hrs transfer. Flights coming in circa £630 for the four of us with luggage.
If it were a weekend with a Monday, we could come back Monday evening. Trouble is the only weekend we have with one child not at school on the Monday is the same weekend as my sisters 40th birthday party. Oh well.
As an academic exercise still keen to know if anybody has found a feasible way of getting out for a weekend easily from those two airport. LGW obviously opens up loads of options but that adds significant driving this end which pushes it into the not practical territory with two airports at only about 30mins drive from us I was hoping it was doable.
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Poster: A snowHead
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How about flybe SOU-GLA? Friday and Sunday evening flights. 1 hr 30 to Glencoe, 2 hrs 15 to Nevis (via Glencoe and very scenic). Or 2 hrs 30 to Glenshee if the weather is better there. Skiing is overcrowded at Cairngorm. Nevis is generally quiet. Problem is, book for a random weekend at the end of March - £110, next weekend - £242 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Next weekend is half term for Hampshire hence the price hike.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@what...snow,
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Not sure which ski areas @foxtrotzulu is thinking of that have easier transfers from GVA?
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Fair point, although there are plenty of places in the Alps that are almost as easy. Megeve, Flaine are both around one hour. Smaller places in the Jura are significantly closer. We can quibble over a few minutes here and there, but the point remains that if you are flying from the South of England then there is no significant logistical advantage in going to Scotland vs the Alps.
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There's also the sleeper train option, which means getting to Euston but it will take you directly to Aviemore or Fort William and save on accommodation costs
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| what...snow wrote: |
| How about flybe SOU-GLA? Friday and Sunday evening flights. 1 hr 30 to Glencoe, 2 hrs 15 to Nevis (via Glencoe and very scenic). Or 2 hrs 30 to Glenshee if the weather is better there. Skiing is overcrowded at Cairngorm. Nevis is generally quiet. Problem is, book for a random weekend at the end of March - £110, next weekend - £242 |
Good shout yes, this looks interesting as well.
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What about flying to Munich?
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You can also fly into Aberdeen for Glenshee and the Lecht BUT the big issue in Scotland is the weather. Often ideal snow conditions are accompanied by windy weather which is not conducive to a great weekend.
And if the snow stays away any longer there may not be a season here at all.
A good day in Scotland is amazing but given your location, I'd be tempted to head to Geneva for a better chance of a weekend skiing.
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Scotland is great for a weekend:
- fantastic blue skies
- cheerful friendly hampshire loving people
- reliable deep, dry snow, snowsure.
- great accomodation options next to the ski infrastructure
- long long runs
- good mix of reds, blues and blacks
- great selection of tip top food options
go for it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@NickyJ, head south, more snow sure and better ski pistes etc. Surely better to drive to Gatwick and hop over to say Geneva or Zurich.
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