The Scottish coastline and the secret village across the loch

I’d never previously considered the far north of Scotland as a Christmas and New Year holiday destination. According to the daylight indicator on my Garmin watch, the sun rises at 9.07am on the summit of Ben Hope, Scotland’s most northerly Munro, and goes down again at 3.31pm. That doesn’t give you much opportunity for serious hill walking, unless you don’t mind walking in the dark.

And then there’s the weather. I’ve discovered from various trips to Skye that when it rains in north-west Scotland...