Black Water

Black Water sits on the Isle of Arran, a proper moorland loch that doesn't get the fuss some of the bigger Scottish lakes do. What you've got here is a dark, still sheet of water ringed by heather and rough grassland - the kind of place where you actually hear yourself think. It's only about three miles from Lamlash on the coast, so not a massive trek from civilisation, but it feels utterly removed from it.

The walk in takes maybe forty minutes depending on your fitness and which path you choose. There's no visitor infrastructure to speak of - no café, no gift shop, no car park. You park near the road and go on foot. That's rather the point. Walkers and hill runners love it because the ground around it offers decent scrambling, and on clear days you get views back towards the Firth of Clyde. Photographers come for the moody light, especially in autumn when the heather turns bronze and the water reflects grey skies.

Families with young kids might find it a bit underwhelming - there's no playground, nowhere to paddle safely, and the final approach can be boggy. But if your lot are old enough for a proper moorland walk and don't need constant entertainment, they'll get something from the wildness of it.

Stay at Kings Caves Glamping just down the island and use Black Water as a morning expedition before heading to the coast. It's the kind of spot that rewards effort without demanding expertise.