Gight Castle

The ruins stand alone in rolling farmland south of Turriff, and there's something properly eerie about approaching Gight Castle on foot. What remains is a four-storey tower house from the 16th century, built by the Meldrum family and later owned by the Byrons - yes, the poet's family. The stonework is still imposing despite centuries of decay, and you can pick out the original windows and what's left of the defensive features.

It's a free site with no visitor centre or facilities, which means you'll need to park sensibly on the nearby road and respect private land around it. The castle itself isn't fenced off, but don't expect interior access - you're viewing the exterior shell and getting a feel for how these fortifications actually sat in the landscape. Plan on twenty minutes to half an hour unless you're a proper castle archaeology enthusiast, in which case you could spend longer examining the stonework and layout.

Historically minded visitors will get the most from this. It's not a dramatic ruin like Dunnottar, and kids might find it underwhelming after the initial excitement fades. The real appeal is the isolation and the sense of standing where genuine medieval power once stood. If you're based at Ythan Valley Campsite nearby, it's worth a morning detour combined with other Aberdeenshire sites rather than a destination in itself. The drive from the campsite takes about fifteen minutes, which makes it feasible as part of a broader explorations of the region.