Blackfriars Chapel

The ruins of Blackfriars Chapel sit quietly on the edge of St Andrews, a Dominican friary that's been crumbling away since the Reformation decided to make a mess of Scotland's religious buildings. What you get is a fragment of medieval stonework - mostly the chapel itself, with enough of the walls standing to give you a sense of scale. It's not dramatic. It won't take your breath away. But there's something rather moving about walking among the remains and imagining the monks going about their business centuries ago.

Historians and anyone with a taste for Scottish ecclesiastical history will find it worthwhile. Families with younger children might find twenty minutes is enough - there's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards really to speak of, just the stones themselves. The charm is in the quietness, the way tourists tend to miss it entirely while heading for St Andrews' cathedral ruins across town.

It's free to wander around, no gates or barriers, which means you can pop in whenever you're passing. If you're staying at one of the nearby parks - St Andrews Holiday Park is just over a mile away, or Craigtoun Meadows if you want somewhere with more facilities - it's a useful spot for a short walk on your way into town. Combine it with St Andrews itself for a proper day out, rather than treating it as a destination on its own. Late afternoon light works best for photographs, mind you.