Robin McKelvie

It is one thing to complain about the owner of an island and insist you could run it better, but quite another to actually buy that island and run it yourself.

From atop Mont Fort, the highest summit in the entire Verbier region, a landscape that could have been sculpted for skiing unfurls all around. Hundreds of Alpine peaks stretch out into the distance, plunging down to slopes alive with cable cars and gondolas. But we’re not here to ski, not when there is a world of adrenaline-pumping adventure to enjoy without a snowflake in sight the rest of the year.

Lauded by Blur’s Damon Albarn and revered by visitors from around the world, the Cowal Peninsula is a holiday haven to hide away in, as Robin McKelvie rediscovers

Despite being directly linked to the Scottish mainland, the Kintyre peninsula has all of the romantic mystique and breathtaking natural marvels of island life, as Robin McKelvie discovers

At long last the trams are coming, but the old port is already displaying a wealth of hot spots to enjoy, food, drink, music, arts and shopping.

So the build-up to Christmas has to be all about endless trips to the shops and trawling the internet for presents? Think again – as the mercury drops there is no need to let your adrenaline levels dip too, not when a winter wonderland of adventures tempt around Scotland. And the good news is that you won’t need to have your own ski gear as this quintet of activities are open to anyone without a piste in sight.

Discover a part of Scotland where the spirit of ancient Romans and romantic writers endures in the emerald hills, looping rivers and welcoming villages.

IF I earned a pound for every time someone tells me I have the best job in the world, I really would have. A travel writer: the dream job. Swanning around the world from First Class to hot tub, Cristal in hand, occasionally getting my feather quill pen wet, before sticking a pin in the map for my next "holiday". Sadly, that travel writing life is but a dream.

Robin McKelvie

Robin McKelvie