Fort Douglas Adventure Park

The ruins of Fort Douglas sit on a low rise just outside Musselburgh, and on a clear day you can see right across the Firth of Forth from up here. It's not a grand fortress - more a squat stone outline really - but it's got proper bones and tells you something about what mattered to people centuries ago.

The fort dates back to the 17th century and the defences are still legible if you walk the perimeter. You're looking at bastions, gun emplacements, the kind of kit built when keeping the Scots in line meant actual walls and cannons. History nuts will get a kick out of picking apart the layout. Kids will find it fine for twenty minutes of clambering about and spotting where the walls have crumbled, though there's no interactive stuff or interpretation boards to speak of.

It's free, naturally. Arrive early on a weekend if you want it to yourself. The walk from Musselburgh takes ten minutes at most. If you're based at Drummohr Camping & Glamping Site nearby - and it's only 3.9 miles away - this works as a quick morning stroll before breakfast. Combine it with a proper walk along the coast path, which starts just south of town.

Weather matters here. Windy and wet, the appeal evaporates fast. But catch it on a decent day and you've got views, fresh air, and twenty minutes of actual Scottish history. Bit of effort to seek out, but worth it if you're staying locally.