Green Flaws

The walk up Green Flaws from Banchory is a proper straightforward climb, nothing technical but steep enough to keep your legs honest. You're looking at moorland the whole way - heather, grass, the odd cairn - with the Dee Valley spreading out below as you gain height. The summit itself isn't dramatic, just a high point among rolling hills, but that's rather the point. On a clear day you can see across to the Cairngorms, and on a grey one you get that authentic Scottish Highland feeling of being properly remote.

Walkers will get the most from this. It's not a tourist attraction with facilities or interpretation boards - just a hill and a route. Allow two to three hours from Banchory town centre, depending on fitness and how many times you stop to look back at the view. The ground can be boggy after rain, so proper boots are worth the bother.

If you're staying at Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages just down the road, this is an obvious choice for a morning out. Banchory Lodge Caravan Park makes it a bit more of a drive but still very manageable. It's the sort of walk that slots well into a broader Aberdeenshire holiday - not the showpiece attraction but genuine Highland walking without the crowds you'd get at Lochnagar or Braemar.

Free, obviously. Go early if you want any solitude.