Biffie Wood

A thick belt of woodland just outside Mintlaw, Biffie Wood is the sort of place you stumble upon rather than deliberately seek out - and that's precisely why it's worth knowing about. The trails here wind through proper old-growth forest, with enough variation in elevation and tree cover to keep things interesting without ever becoming demanding.

It's best suited to families with children old enough to walk a mile or so, or to anyone after a straightforward woodland ramble without the formality of a marked attraction. The paths are manageable year-round, though winter makes them muddier than summer. You'll get a sense of how the Aberdeenshire landscape looked before the modern clearances, which isn't nothing.

There's no visitor centre, no charges that I'm aware of, and no set opening hours - you simply show up. Allow an hour to ninety minutes if you take it slowly and actually look around rather than just power through. It's genuinely quiet, which is rare this close to a town.

If you're staying at Aden Caravan & Camping just down the road, this makes a decent half-morning activity without requiring any planning whatsoever. Don't expect views or dramatic scenery. What you get instead is wood - real, ungussied-up wood - which some people find exactly what they need and others find a bit pointless. Honest assessment: it's fine, but it won't change your life.