Castle Craig

There's a steep path up to Castle Craig that'll have you breathing hard within minutes, but the climb is short enough that you won't regret it. The ruin sits on a volcanic plug above Dingwall, offering proper views across the Black Isle and Cromarty Firth - on a clear day it's genuinely worth the effort.

What you're looking at is a 13th-century castle, though "castle" might be generous these days. It's skeletal - just stonework and atmosphere really - but that's rather the point. The Highland landscape does the heavy lifting here. You get a sense of why someone built a fortress on this particular lump of rock: defensible, commanding, visible for miles.

This isn't a tourist attraction with tea rooms and interpretive panels. It's a proper climb to a ruin, free to visit, taking maybe 45 minutes there and back if you're reasonably fit. Worth it for walkers and anyone who likes having views to themselves. Kids who can manage the gradient will find the scrambling fun; very young ones might find it tedious.

Stay at Blackrock Caravan Park just 2.2 miles away - it's well-rated and puts you within easy reach of this and other Highland spots. The path itself is well-trodden but can be muddy in wet weather, so proper boots are worth considering. Go on a day with decent visibility; on a grey afternoon it loses something.