Dubh Lochan

The walk down to Dubh Lochan from the Ballater side takes about twenty minutes through proper Highland moorland, and when you round that final bend, the dark water just appears. It's a small loch - maybe half a mile across - but there's something about the stillness of it that stops you talking. The hills crowd in close, and on a clear day the reflections are sharp enough to confuse which way is up.

This is a destination for walkers who want solitude rather than a postcard view. The path isn't marked particularly well, so you need reasonable navigation skills or at least a decent map app. Families with small legs might find the moorland trudge tedious, and there's nowhere to sit except on rocks, so it's not a "pop down for a paddle" sort of place. But if you're staying at Braemar Caravan Park and fancy a half-day expedition into the mountains without committing to a full day's hiking, it works well.

The loch itself is cold and dark - mountain water, basically - so swimming isn't really the draw here. Photography enthusiasts will spend longer than most, especially in golden hour when the light hits the surrounding peaks. Allow two to three hours all in, including the walk back when you're tired.

Go on a day when the weather's settled. Rain turns the moorland into a bog, and low cloud steals any sense of being in the hills. Free, obviously. Just turn up with proper boots and an OS map or phone with offline maps loaded.