Duke of Gordon's Monument

High on a ridge above Aviemore stands a granite column that's impossible to miss once you know it's there. The Duke of Gordon's Monument commemorates a 19th-century landowner with a taste for grand gestures, and the walk to reach it is genuinely rewarding - mostly because the views back down across the Spey Valley are absolutely cracking.

It's a straightforward hill walk, nothing technical, though the final approach gets a touch steep. Allow about ninety minutes there and back from the car park, depending on fitness. The monument itself isn't massive - you're not standing in front of some towering edifice - but it marks a proper viewpoint. On a clear day you can pick out the cairngorms to the south and the broader Highland landscape rolling away.

History enthusiasts will get something from the backstory, though there's not much interpretation on site. Children tend to find the walk manageable and the open moorland lets them burn off energy without feeling cooped up. Families staying at Dalraddy Holiday Park just down the valley - a mile or so away - could easily work this into a Cairngorms exploration without adding much to the drive.

Go in late afternoon when the light softens across the valley. Midges can be sharp in summer, so pick a breezy day if possible. Free to visit, naturally, and it costs nothing to turn around halfway if the mood takes you.