Cnoc Na Sroine Wood, dun site

You'll find yourself in a proper wild bit of Highland woodland, where the ground rises sharply and the trees crowd in tight. Cnoc Na Sroine is an Iron Age dun site - essentially the remains of a fortified settlement, though there's not much left standing now. What you're looking at is archaeology understated: earthworks, the outline of where buildings once stood, the kind of thing that rewards a slow walk and a bit of imagination.

Historically minded walkers will get far more from this than casual strollers. There's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards beyond perhaps a basic marker if you're lucky. You're reading the landscape itself. The location is deliberately strong - a defensive position that makes immediate sense once you're up there, looking at the approaches. It's the sort of spot Iron Age folk would have chosen and you understand why.

The walk from Dingwall takes you through genuine woodland, which is lovely on a dry day and muddy as hell when it's wet. Allow a good hour or two depending on how much you potter about examining the site. Free admission, naturally, being an archaeological site with no facilities whatsoever.

If you're basing yourself at Blackrock Caravan Park, this works as a half-day excursion when the weather cooperates. It's not dramatic or showy - don't expect anything like the scale of bigger Highland forts. But if you're interested in how people lived and chose their settlements two thousand years ago, it's worth the detour from Dingwall.