Grass Labyrinth

Walk into a maze cut straight into the grass and you've got yourself a proper afternoon activity - assuming you can find your way out again. The Grass Labyrinth near Banff is one of those oddities that works precisely because it doesn't try too hard. It's a working maze rather than a tourist attraction, with paths mown through the field in an intricate pattern that defeats most people within the first ten minutes.

The walk from Banff town centre takes you through farmland, and that's part of the appeal - this isn't a visitor centre with a gift shop. You're just turning up to a field. Families with primary school kids will get a solid hour out of it, assuming they're not the type to rage-quit mazes. Teenagers find it more tedious unless they're competitive. The real satisfaction comes from actually solving it rather than wandering about taking photos, though the views across Aberdeenshire while you're lost aren't bad either.

Best visited in summer when the grass is properly grown and the paths are clear - spring or autumn and you might walk straight through without realising where the boundaries are. It's free to enter, though obviously you respect that it's farmland. Allow 45 minutes to an hour depending on your navigation skills and patience levels.

If you're based at Banff Links Caravan Park or Wester Bonnyton further inland, the labyrinth makes a decent walk that isn't just another Highland stroll. It's a bit daft, honestly, but that's rather the point.