Moray Stane

You're standing in a field near Stonehaven, looking at a weathered slab of stone that's been here for over four thousand years. The Moray Stane is a Pictish symbol stone - one of those rare carved rocks that tells you the ancient peoples of northeast Scotland had serious artistic ambitions and something important to say, even if we've largely forgotten what. The carvings show a mirror and comb motif, typical of Pictish design, though the stone itself has taken a battering from centuries of Scottish weather.

This is proper archaeology - no visitor centre, no steps cordoning it off, just the thing itself in the landscape where Pictish folk left it. You'll need decent footwear and an OS map or decent smartphone navigation to find it, but that's half the appeal. History enthusiasts and anyone genuinely interested in Pictish culture will find it worth the effort; casual holidaymakers might struggle to justify the detour unless they're already exploring the Stonehaven area.

It's free, obviously, and takes about twenty minutes to see properly once you've tracked it down. The walk across farmland gives you a real sense of how these stones functioned in their original setting - not locked away but part of the working landscape. If you're based at Upper Crawton Park or Cloak Caravan Park nearby, both excellent five-star spots, this makes a morning's expedition combined with exploring Stonehaven's coastal walks. Go when the light's decent enough to make out the carvings clearly.