Dumyat

The walk up Dumyat is properly steep - no messing about. This isn't some gentle amble through parkland; it's a proper lung-buster that takes most people between forty minutes and an hour to reach the 418-metre summit overlooking Stirling. The payoff, though, is a cracking 360-degree view across the Forth Valley. On a clear day you can see right across to the Pentland Hills and beyond. It's the kind of vantage point that makes you understand why Stirling Castle sits where it does.

The route itself climbs through woodland before opening out onto moorland - straightforward enough to follow but your quads will know about it by the top. It's best tackled from the Menstrie Glen car park side, which gives you the most direct approach. Allow three hours return if you're not a regular hill walker, maybe two if you are. The summit is bare and windswept, with a cairn and excellent orientation table so you can actually work out what you're looking at rather than just squinting vaguely.

Families with older kids will manage fine, though anything under eight might find it a slog. Walkers keen to bag Lowland hills will rate it highly - it's one of the Ochils and genuinely rewarding for the effort. It's free, obviously, and worth combining with other walks in the Ochils if you're staying at Witches Craig Caravan & Camping Park just down the road in Menstrie. Go early to avoid the afternoon crowds in summer, or pick a weekday if you can.