Dales Park Pavillion

The pavilion at Dales Park sits right on the edge of Peterhead's waterfront, offering proper views across the bay if you time it right. It's a nature reserve, though calling it that might be generous - it's more a patch of scrub and grassland where locals come to spot seabirds and the occasional seal on a calm day. The pavilion itself is functional rather than fancy, a decent shelter if the weather turns while you're wandering the rough paths.

Walkers will find it worthwhile as a short detour, especially if you're based at Peterhead Marina Bay Holiday Park just down the road. It takes maybe an hour to cover the reserve properly, less if you're just after a quick breath of salt air. Bring binoculars and you might clock some waders or gulls. Kids will get bored unless they're already keen on birdwatching - there's no visitor centre, no interactive stuff, just you and the marsh.

The real appeal is the light in late afternoon, when the reserve glows proper golden. Free entry, obviously, and open whenever you fancy walking round. The car park situation is basic but workable. It's the sort of place that makes sense as part of a wider coastal walk rather than a destination in itself. If you're doing a week at the Marina Bay Park, slot this in between the town and the beaches further south. Nothing spectacular, but honest.