I stopped in Aviemore a couple of times on Saturday and Sunday and as is usual at this time of year it’s very very busy. What puzzles me is the sheer number of South East accents I hear. It got me thinking as Cairngorm shut the gates on Sunday because of the wind (not unusual!) and everyone had to head back to town to work out what to do with their day.

It’s a 1,000 mile round trip, the weather is wonderfully unpredictable and the conditions vary from perfect to closed overnight.

You guys are perfectly poised for a short flight or comparable drive to the alps.

Accommodation books up quickly at this time of year so presumably people are booking in advance.

So why Aviemore/Glencoe over an alpine resort?

1,000 mile round trip v 1,300 mile round trip
cost of ski hire is comparable
cost of accommodation is broadly comparable
cost of lift pass is comparable
cost of eating/drinking is comparable

Scotland has no “resorts”
Scotland’s weather is generally worse
Scotland’s conditions are generally not as good
Scotland’s ski areas are generally much smaller
Scotland’s ski infrastructure is generally dated

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that we get the tourism and the towns have a great buzz at this time of year! Aviemore was mobbed at the weekend and it was nice to see all the local businesses doing a good trade, but I genuinely do wonder why those just as well placed to head to the alps would choose scotland instead for skiing?

Scotland is beautiful? I’d go for no other reason than that

Are you sure they’re skiers? Scottish winter climbing and walking both probably get as many people into the hills as skiing and aren’t necessarily the same as what’s available in the alps etc.

Maybe because they’re not all skiists and there’s stuff to do when the Skiing is closed and/or too challenging? Tons of families around at the moment, it being half-term. I don’t know how costs stack up abroad at this time either.

Anyway, if it’s all South East accents they’ve probably just driven up from Edinburgh.

When we lived doon sooth ,we tied in ski trips with visiting friends and family on the way up and down. 🙂

I’ve skied the Alps a number of times, for exactly those reasons.

Definitely skiers.

Sorry I should have made that more clear…I 100% understand those who want to climb/walk/ski over a week/weekend. It was more the number who come specifically for the skiing. We always get chatting to loads (west coast blood, can’t stop myself 🙂 )

Scotland is beautiful?

You won’t get any arguments from me against that logic!

Sorry OP, was this thread just an excuse to get me to post some recent photos?
[url=https://flic.kr/p/r6ort7]P1010778[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/qRfDjx]P1010789[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/r8Fjq2]P1010812[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

You guys are perfectly poised for a short flight or comparable drive to the alps

Yes, thats why I go to the Alps.
Why people go up there, to that dump* I have no idea.

* 😉

What puzzles me is the sheer number of South East accents I hear.

Every time I go up north it always amazes me how many English accents I hear.
I don’t think there’s any Scots left in Torridon/Ullapool area. The only people I heard were either English or Polish!

If it’s skiers, I have no idea unless families want a relatively easy drive and to avoid the tolls/ferry/tunnel etc.
I’m in the SE and i’d fly into Europe to ski/board but for walking/mountaineering i’d opt for Scotland. In fact i’m trying to squeeze in a trip up there asap…..

What’s it like just now scotroutes? This time next week I’ll be on a winter skills course at Glenmore Lodge.

What puzzles me is the sheer number of South East accents I hear

is a scottish accent now compulsory?

is a scottish accent now compulsory?

Read the OP in context and then wind your neck in.

Sorry OP, was this thread just an excuse to get me to post some recent photos?

Oh aye, don’t get me wrong, it can be fantastic! I was climbing in this last weekend….

(but it’s a pretty expensive gamble for those who could otherwise have headed to the alps!)

Those photos above were last week. It’s been a bit warmer these last few days but there was more fresh snow again last night and we are expecting some more over the course of the weekend. Should be plenty of decent snow for snowholing etc. and enough ice around for crampon practice. Upper ski slopes were closed today due to high winds so expect a bit of drifting too.
is a scottish accent now compulsory?[/quote]I think it’s pretty obvious that the point being made was to do with those travelling a long way to get here when the Alps would be just as close. Of course, for those seeking to take offence, go ahead.

Was thinking the same – two of my work colleges are staying in the back of T5 in a car park somewhere around Aviemore this week having driven up from Hampshire in search of some snowboarding. I love going back to the Cairngorms but did wonder why they didn’t go to France.

Read the OP in context and then wind your neck in.

I did, and to me the suggestion is that having a southern accent meant you had to have travelled all the way from the south to get there.

Love.

a southern fairy.

Of course, for those seeking to take offence, go ahead.

not offended. But I don’t assume that if I hear a scottish accent in devon that they must be visiting…

I did, and to me the suggestion is that having a southern accent meant you had to have travelled all the way from the south to get there

Aviemore is a wee town. When it goes from 50 people mulling around to 5,000 people mulling around during English school holidays, it’s a reasonable assumption that they’re not all living in Scotland 🙂

then they must be from that london. carry on.

Anyway, if it’s all South East accents they’ve probably just driven up from Edinburgh.

I’ll second this.

then they must be from that london. carry on.

Living most of my adult life in England has given me an incredible ability to identify whether an accent is southern, northern or somewhere else 😉

That coupled with them telling me when you get chatting to them in the pub.

Or Edinburgh, like I said above (IIRC, 12% of Edinburghs population identify themselves as English). 😆

Of course, they are also buying all their cars down South. That would be the only explanation for the number plates.

*makes not to start work on my finest posh git southern accent. With a strong whiff off Norfolk farmer.

That coupled with them telling me when you get chatting to them in the pub.

so why didn’t you ask them why they came to scotland?

so why didn’t you ask them why they came to scotland?[/quote]Oh, you’d no doubt get someone who would take it the wrong way…..

As to the OP.

I’m not sure. Reckon I’d head to the Pyrenees or similar. But horses for courses, and although not really easier. It’s much simpler in a car, you just chuck your stuff in and go until arriving at your destination. No changes, no airport parking, just driving.

Scotland is without doubt blessed with some goergous scenery. But so are many countries. Which has just rekindled my desire to return to the Ordesa Canyon.

so why didn’t you ask them why they came to scotland?

If you’d spent 9 hours in a car and you had to tell the family for the second day out of three that the mountain was closed, how would you feel when some chirpy Scot asked you why you’d bothered? 🙂

when some chirpy Scot asked you why you’d bothered

– you’re not supposed to sound pleased about it 😉

So why Aviemore/Glencoe over an alpine resort?

You’re not a real skier until you’ve skied in Scotland.

I go to the Alps, would never consider Scotland for a skiing break, although I may ski in Scotland whilst doing other things up there generally.

cos you can do this

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeFPUeDnnj8[/video]

I saw the guy riding up, but didn’t realise he was going to come down the piste.

That coupled with them telling me when you get chatting to them in the pub.

Now I know you’re making it up, no one from the SE would talk to a stranger, pub or no 🙂

Now I know you’re making it up, no one from the SE would talk to a stranger, pub or no

Plus

some chirpy Scot

Yeah, right.

The whiskey is sooo much better in Scotland

I took my SE accent up there once, twas a snowboard Industry do, we had every kind of weather there is, all on the same day, wind, rain, snow, sleet, hail, sun, got to the point one run, with full face masks and goggles we had to stop purely from the pain of the hail hitting the tip of our unprotected noses, they even gave us a certificate for being up on cairngorm, like it was a mars mission.

scotroutes – Member

Or Edinburgh, like I said above (IIRC, 12% of Edinburghs population identify themselves as English).

And 100% as being from the south east 😉

pedropete – Member
The whiskey is sooo much better in Scotland

you know they bottle and export it, aye? 😆

The whiskey is sooo much better in Scotland

Not sure if serious….

Perfectly serious, just can’t spell 8O. So should it be spelt with or without the “e”? Can’t you tell i’m from the South East

Whisky in Scotland. Remember “e” for Eire and you’ll pass the Border Control Spelling Test.*

*In the SNP manifesto, honest! 😀