Cottar's House

The cottage itself is modest - whitewashed stone, low windows, the sort of place you'd walk straight past if you weren't looking for it. But this is where James Macpherson, the man who claimed to have 'found' the ancient Ossian poems, actually lived and worked. Whether you buy his story or not (spoiler: most scholars don't), standing outside forces you to think about one of Scotland's great literary controversies.

It's in Newtonmore, deep in the Highlands, which means you're already up here for the glens and the walking. The house itself is tiny - you're not going inside for hours of content. This is a 10-minute stop on a bigger route through Badenoch, ideal if you're doing the Cairngorms loop or heading towards Aviemore. Literary types will find it properly interesting; families with young kids might find it a bit thin on the ground, unless you're keen on 18th-century Scottish culture.

There's no visitor centre, no café, no gift shop. You turn up, have a look, and move on. It works as part of a broader Highland jaunt rather than a destination in itself. Both Invernahavon and Laggan Glamping are close enough if you're basing yourself locally - good spots for exploring this corner of the Highlands without the Aviemore crowds. The landscape around here is proper wild, which partly explains why Macpherson's tales caught the Romantic imagination in the first place.