I spent several happy summer holidays playing around the area bounded by the Cairngorms to the south, Grantown to the east, Kingussie to the west, and as far north as Nairn. The area was thick with relatives in those days.

I don’t feel much older now, but to my surprise 24 years has past since my last proper visit. How did that happen? It was a summer visit a couple of years after my grandfather died, who had made all our previous trips possible since we stayed in his house.

The house (“the manse”) is now owned by my uncle, so there isn’t the space for family to descend upon him, which is a shame as my own family is now growing and I want to give them the amazing gift of beauty and space that I received.

I managed a day-trip up from London last December for my grandmother’s funeral in the chapel beside the manse, sleeper-ing up and down either side of the day itself. We arrived to a biting minus 10 air that blew me away, had breakfast in the Cairngorm Hotel, and then wandered around Loch Morlich. It simply served to impress upon me the need to get back.

This is only a three-day visit, but I’m lucky enough to be going with my oldest friend who, like me, could do with some fresh air.