Travel: 48 Hours in Lochaber

7.30pm Enjoy a meal in the resident Bulas Bistro.

Saturday, 8am Appreciate, in daylight, the splendour of the hotel's location, at the foot of Beinn a'Bheithir. Enjoy kippers for breakfast.

9.30am Check out the Glencoe Visitor Centre (0844 493 2222, www.glencoe-nts.org.uk), where you'll find a woodland walk with dramatic views.

11.30am Arrive at Nevis Range Ski Resort (Torlundy, www.nevisrange.co.uk), just north of Fort William. Climb into a moving gondola for an exciting trip up 2,100 feet of the 4,006ft Aonach Mor (family gondola ticket, 29).

12.30pm Lunch in the Nevis Range's Snowgoose restaurant.

2pm Enjoy a ski lesson (37 includes equipment hire).

3pm Walk to the signposted viewpoints. The views from 2,000-plus feet on a clear day, with the lochs and mountains of Lochaber glazed and frosted by winter, are spectacular.

4pm Arrive back at the Ballachulish Hotel to get swimming gear. Take a five-minute drive to its sister establishment, the Isles of Glencoe Hotel, where you're welcome to use the pool and sauna.

7pm Visit the Clachaig Inn (01855 811 252, www.clachaig.com) for dinner.

Sunday, 8am Breakfast - this time go for smoked haddock poached in milk.

9am Drive to South Laggan, for a Wild West Safari (01809 501355, www.wildwestsafari.co.uk, tours from 25). Clamber into a minibus for a drive into the heart of Glen Garry and the chance to catch a glimpse of red deer.

2pm Take the picturesque route home along the A86 via Dalwhinnie to the A9 with the Monoliadh mountains on one side and Loch Laggan on the other.

THE FACTS

For more information, visit www.outdoorcapital.co.uk

This article first appeared in The Scotsman Magazine, Saturday 29 January, 2011