Cnoc a'Mhargadaidh

The walk up Cnoc a'Mhargadaidh from Dingwall is modest in distance but surprisingly rewarding. You're climbing roughly 300 metres to reach the summit - nothing that will exhaust you, but enough to earn the views properly. On a clear day you get sight lines across the Black Isle and up towards Ben Wyvis, though Scottish weather being what it is, you might just as easily get cloud cover and an atmospheric trudge through the mist. Forty minutes up, thirty down, and you've had a proper hill experience without needing full fell-walking kit.

Walkers will appreciate this one more than casual strollers. It's not a gentle interpretive trail - there's actual ascent, and in wet conditions the path can be boggy. Families with teenagers keen to bag a Munro training hill will find it useful; younger kids might find the slog less thrilling unless they're already keen on hillwalking. The terrain is moorland and rough grass, so proper boots matter.

There's no visitor centre, no café, no facilities on the summit itself. This is the real thing - just you, the hill, and whatever views the Highlands decide to show you. It's free, obviously, and works perfectly as a morning expedition from Blackrock Caravan Park just 3.2 miles away, or from Dingwall Camping and Caravanning Club Site if you're after ratings and facilities. Highland Heights Luxury Glamping is also within striking distance at 5.6 miles. Grab an OS map, wear the right boots, and go early - the light in the Highlands shifts fast.