Durness Golf Club

You won't find manicured fairways or pristine bunkers at Durness Golf Club - and that's precisely why it's worth the drive up to this corner of the Scottish Highlands. It's a proper links course, the sort that feels like you're playing on the edge of the world, with the North Atlantic wind doing its best to humiliate your scorecard. The views across Balnakeil Bay are genuinely spectacular, especially on a clear day when you can see right across to Cape Wrath. Nine holes means you can play it twice if you're keen, or knock off in a couple of hours if you're not.

This is golfer territory, not a family entertainment spot. You'll need to be comfortable with a bit of rough-and-tumble golf - the greens aren't pampered, the rough is genuinely rough, and the weather changes faster than you can change clubs. That said, even duffers will appreciate what they're looking at. The isolation is half the appeal; you're not queuing behind fourballs, just battling the elements and your own game.

It's a small club with modest facilities, so check ahead before you head out. Staying at Sango Sands Oasis just down the road makes sense - you're settled for the week, then venture out for your round. Durness itself is remote, which means it rewards the committed golfer. The clubhouse won't win awards, but standing on the tee with nothing but cliffs and sea stretching out feels like you've earned something.