If it has been traumatic for Scots parents returning kids to school amid face-mask debacles, heavy rain and one-way traffic, spare a thought for a family from Aberdeen stranded in Nepal under a second lockdown.

Round-the-world travelers Kris and Julie Smith — plus their children, Erihn, 9, and Jacob, 4 — realized a dream by reaching Everest Base Camp in June after the pandemic left them trapped in the mountains. More recently, after nearly six months as the only Europeans in the region, they opted for a treacherous journey by foot through monsoon, landslide and leech-infested terrain to the capital, Kathmandu — carrying out their own version of home-schooling along the way.