Where to go in Scotland for guaranteed snow this Christmas

ARE you dreaming of a white Christmas? With Scotland's ever-changing weather it's not always guaranteed, however there are some places you can go where you'll definitely find snow this winter.

We've picked out a handful of places where you're guaranteed to have a white Christmas. Picture: PA

Looking to hit the slopes...

GLENSHEE SKI CENTRE

(Cairnwell, Braemar AB35 5XU)

Picture: John Devlin

For those families that are a little bit more serious about winter sports and are seeking snow for a chance to ski or snowboard then Glenshee is the destination for you.

Set to open a week before Christmas, Glenshee’s ski centre is one of the best in the country with an impressive 36 runs providing an amazing diversity of natural terrain for all standards of skiers and snowboarders, making it perfect for a family with different ages.

Learn from the best, join a club or simply just ski or snowboard for fun.

Now with added reindeer...

Picture: John Devlin

CAIRNGORM NATIONAL PARK

(Ballater, AB35 5YJ)

One of the best places in the country to go for snow, the Cairngorms National Park boasts the most days of snow in the country, with an average of 76 each year.

Not only does it have a great ski centre it also has its own herd of wild reindeer which the children can visit and feed.

It’s also the site of the beautiful town of Aviemore, which is a popular winter resort.

Enjoy a little bit of island hopping...

LOCH OF HUNDLAND, ORKNEY

(Orkney Islands)

One of the surest ways to find snow, other than setting off for the mountains, is to head as far north as you can go.

Orkney is the closest to the mainland of Scotland’s northern isles (the other being Shetland), making it the easier of the two to get to during the winter.

The Loch of Hundland on Mainland (the main island of Orkney) is the best place to find snow with the white stuff falling there for 59 days on average each year.

Should you venture a little further north you can head for Fair Isle, which sees 62.8 days of snowfall on average every year or where Baltasound on the Shetland island of Unst has a whopping average snow fall of just under 64.7 days a year.

Staying in the south...

ESKDALEMUIR, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

(Langholm, Dumfries, DG13 0QL)

According to the Met Office the village of Eskdalemuir in Dumfries & Galloway is “one of the most established weather stations in the UK with data going back over a hundred years”.

It’s also a great place to find snow during the winter months and its location, which lies close to the borders of Scotland is perfect for those who’d rather not venture north in search of some lying snow.

During the period 1981-2010, the village recorded snow falling on an average 50 days each year, making it one of the best places in the south of Scotland to see some of the white stuff.

For when you need a quick fix...

SNOW FACTOR AT INTU BRAEHEAD

(intu Braehead. Kings Inch Road, Glasgow, PA4 8XQ)

Scotland’s only year round snow sport resort is only ten minutes from Glasgow’s city centre and has the added bonus of a food court, ten pin bowling and a cinema close by.

Offering the longest indoor real snow slope in the UK, Snow Factor has no less than four ski lifts, an ice climbing wall, snow tubing, a festive grotto, sledging, and all of the fun associated with a winter resort and best of all it won’t break the bank.