13 intrepid members of the Oakley Holidays from Newcastle and Durham ventured to a very white snowy Edinburgh on January 4th. The snow added a challenging element to the first item on a busy programme devised by Adam Hall, a picnic on Arthurs Seat, the 250m peak overlooking Edinburgh. After initial snowman building and snowball games on the lower slopes, those with less fashionable footwear set off for the summit.

The descent proved even more tricky with everyone adopting their own downhill tactics including Nick Hall stylishly snowboarding without a board and Alison Flower perfecting the sitting pose.

A perfect picnic spot was found out of the wind for a picnic lunch, and everyone was very glad of Joe Keys' shortbread selection.

After drying and thawing out, the group walked via the Meadows, Royal Mile and Edinburgh CAatle to reach the city centre. Kat Moore led the shoppers who made the most of January sales picking up some warmer clothing and interesting fashion items which will be modelled at the Easter holiday. Meanwhile, Philip Stubley and Adam Hall indulged in some of Edinburgh's culture by visiting the National Gallery of Scotland and others recovered from earlier activities by resting with hot drinks.

The group then moved on to Edinburgh's Winter Wonderland for ice skating. Joe Keys learnt how to skate for the first time, and Moira Quinn won the award for most stylish skating. Next, there was a chance to sample the fun fair with Alex Clark winning a race on the carousel, Ollie Clark sampling the flying swings, and Chris Troughton and Chris Vernazza surprising themselves by overcoming a dislike of Ferris Wheels to enjoy a windy ride.

Pizza Hut was the final destination for a well earned meal which gave everyone a chance to catch up on they had been doing over the festive season as well as hear about plans for 2008, over nachos, pizza and ice cream. A brisk stroll up the Royal Mile was in order to walk off the filling meal and Sam Keys enlightened us with his knowledge of the background of the many statues we passed.

Finally, the weary but contented travellers boarded the train back to England, for a sleepy journey during which Kat Fellows displayed her superb puzzle skills. Everybody agreed they had enjoyed an excellent day and were looking forward to the Oakley activities of 2008.