Innerwick Castle

The ruins of Innerwick Castle sit on a low rise above the Dunbar coast, commanding views across fields that roll towards the North Sea. What you get here is a proper castle skeleton - four-storey tower house, red sandstone walls still standing, windows dark as closed eyes. It's the kind of place where you can actually walk round and through the structure, not a roped-off museum piece.

Historyophiles will spend time picking through the stonework and imagining the place as it was in the 1400s. The castle was a stronghold for the Dunbar family, and you can read that power in how it still dominates the landscape five centuries later. Families with older kids won't find it demanding - there's no gift shop fatigue, no crowds, just the castle and the wind off the Firth of Forth.

Allow 45 minutes to an hour. The walk from the road is straightforward, though it's exposed once you're out there - go on a day with decent weather or you'll spend more time dodging rain than appreciating the stonework. Free to visit. Best done as part of a wider coastal wander from Dunbar or as a stop between Belhaven Bay Caravan Park and exploring the town itself. The castle's genuinely worth the detour if you're in East Lothian - it's neither crowded nor overly demanding, and the views justify the trip.