So many times over the last 45 years we have said to each other "let's get away on our own for Christmas". Well, we finally made the decision to actually do it rather than dream of it. Why now? With the first grandchild on the way I suspect we will want to be closer to home for future Christmases. The weather forecast for the UK this winter is either flooding or severe snow falls (or both) depending on which paper you believe. And John needs a break from all the voluntary work he has taken on over the past few years.

So, the caravan is serviced, the tunnel is booked, a site is booked for the Christmas period, and on December 2 we are off, following the snowbirds to the south of Spain as part of the grey plague that descends on Andalusia every winter.

Incidentally the photo is from a previous trip, taken in the Sierra Nevada above Granada in February 2009 at an altitude of 2,250 metres.

See the Route