Cottage Woods

Cottage Woods near Keith is one of those Aberdeenshire forests where you can actually breathe properly - tall pines and decent paths that don't demand hiking boots and a degree in orienteering. The woodland is straightforward: you walk in, the trees do their thing, birds get on with it, and you remember why forests beat shopping centres.

It works brilliantly for families who don't need everything explained with a visitor centre. Kids will run ahead spotting pine cones. Dog walkers love it. The local types who know the place pop in for forty minutes on a Tuesday. There's no pretence here - just forest and quietness.

Allow an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're proper slow. No entrance fee that we can find, which is refreshing. Best visited when it's not dumping rain, though that's Scotland for you. Autumn's decent if the midges have cleared off.

If you're staying at Hillhead Hideaways just down the road, this is your five-minute backyard alternative to the bigger attractions. Cairnty Lodges is about as far away and works fine for a morning stroll before heading elsewhere. It slots neatly into a park-based holiday without requiring special planning. Not the most dramatic woodland in the Highlands, but honest and uncomplicated - which counts for something.