Jamieson Paton Fountain

You'll find this Victorian fountain tucked away in Montrose, a coastal town that doesn't shout about its history but certainly has plenty of it. The Jamieson Paton Fountain is a proper example of 19th-century civic pride - the kind of thing local worthies commissioned to commemorate someone important and leave their mark on the townscape. It's not massive, and you won't spend hours here, but it's worth a five-minute detour if you're wandering round Montrose anyway.

The fountain itself is a solid piece of Victorian masonry, well-maintained and genuinely interesting if you care about how communities chose to honour their benefactors back then. The inscription tells you what Jamieson Paton did - assuming you can read the weathered stone - and there's something rather charming about these modest monuments to forgotten local figures. History enthusiasts will get more from it than families with restless kids, if I'm honest.

If you're staying at St Cyrus Holiday Park just down the coast, you're perfectly placed to take in Montrose's older quarters while you're in the area. Pop in during daylight whenever suits you - it's free and accessible. Allow ten minutes maximum, though the town itself warrants a proper wander. The real pleasure here is the sense of stumbling across genuine local history rather than a polished tourist attraction. That's rather the point of it, really.