Moray Public Park

Walking into Moray Public Park from Callander direction, you're immediately struck by how the landscape just opens up - proper woodland mixed with open grassland, the sort of place where you can actually breathe. It's a nature reserve that takes itself seriously without being precious about it.

The park sprawls across enough ground that you could happily spend a couple of hours here without feeling rushed. There are woodland trails threading through native trees, open areas where the views start to stretch out across the Scottish Lowlands, and the kind of paths that work just as well for a proper walk as they do for families wanting to tire out restless kids. The undergrowth changes with the seasons - spring brings everything back to life, autumn turns it golden. Winter's actually rather good too if you don't mind muddy boots.

It's the sort of place that appeals to walkers far more than it does to people after manicured park gardens. If you're after a splash about on manicured lawns, look elsewhere. But if you want genuine woodland and a sense of being somewhere real, this delivers. Families with school-age children will find enough space to let them run, though younger kids might need more obvious attractions.

If you're basing yourself at Keltie Bridge Caravan Park or Craighead Howf - both excellent spots within striking distance - Moray makes for a logical morning out before heading into Callander proper for lunch. It's the kind of reserve that doesn't demand advance planning. Just turn up, pick a path, see where it takes you.