Baston Burn, dun site

A rough walk across moorland to a Bronze Age fort that's more earthwork than grandeur, but genuinely absorbing if you know what you're looking at. Baston Burn sits above Stirling, a defensible hilltop with concentric ramparts still visible after three thousand years - the ditches and banks tell you exactly why Iron Age folk chose this spot.

You'll need proper boots and a decent map. It's not signposted, not manicured, and there's no café at the top. What you get instead is the real thing - archaeology as it actually exists, not as English Heritage has polished it. Walkers with an eye for landscape history will find it rewarding. Families with young children might struggle; the moorland approach is tedious for small legs, and once you're there, you're looking at lumps in the ground.

The site is free and accessible year-round, though winter waterlogging makes it grim. Allow two hours from car park to summit and back. Best done as part of a longer Stirling walk rather than a standalone trip.

Stirling itself is proper medieval - the castle dominates everything - but this dun offers something different. If you're camping at Witches Craig, just five miles away, it's a logical half-day excursion that separates you from the tourist crowds. Worth the effort if Bronze Age fortifications are your thing. Skip it if you're after easy views.