Barrel man

The Barrel Man sits in Keith, Aberdeenshire, as one of those oddball roadside attractions you stumble upon and can't quite believe is real. It's exactly what it sounds like - a sculpture of a man fashioned from wooden barrels, standing as a curious monument to... well, that's the fun part. Nobody's entirely sure what the original inspiration was, but it's become something of a local landmark that draws a steady stream of bemused visitors.

The gallery itself is modest. You're not walking into some sprawling exhibition space - this is a proper small-town affair where the Barrel Man himself is the main draw, though there's local art and craft work around. It's the kind of place you pop into for twenty minutes, take a few photos, chat with whoever's running it, and move on. Kids find it amusing more than anything else, which is fair enough.

It won't cost you much, if anything, and it works nicely as a breather between longer walks or drives around the area. If you're staying at Hillside Havens or Cairnty Lodges - both just a few miles away - it's worth a quick detour on your way through Keith. Don't build your entire holiday around it, but don't skip it either. The Barrel Man's the kind of eccentric roadside oddity that makes a trip feel properly Scottish rather than polished.