Fordie

The ruins at Fordie near Crieff are what's left of a medieval settlement - stone foundations, a bit of wall, the sort of thing that rewards a proper look but won't hold your attention for hours. It's essentially an archaeological site where the University of St Andrews has done some digging over the years, uncovering fragments of medieval life: pottery shards, evidence of houses, the bones of a place that mattered once and then didn't.

You'll need to be genuinely interested in archaeology or medieval Scotland to make a special trip. This isn't a reconstructed village or a visitor centre with interpretive panels. It's old stones in a field, and your enjoyment depends entirely on whether you can read a landscape and imagine what happened there six centuries ago. That said, if you're walking country anyway - and this corner of Perthshire is good for it - Fordie makes a decent waypoint. The walk itself is the thing.

The nearest town is Crieff, which has all the amenities you'd need. If you're staying at one of the local holiday parks - Comrie Croft or Twenty Shilling Wood are within spitting distance - you could easily work Fordie into a day's rambling without treating it as a destination in its own right. Allow thirty minutes maximum if the weather's decent, longer if you're taking notes or sketching. No facilities on site, so bring water.

Free to visit, as far as anyone can tell. Go if archaeology interests you or you're exploring the area thoroughly. Skip it if you need something more tangible.