Old Muthill Church

The roofless stone shell of Old Muthill Church sits on a gentle slope just outside Crieff, looking rather like someone's abandoned a building project from centuries past. Which, in fairness, they did - around 1624 when they decided the new church in the village proper was the place to be. What remains is genuinely striking: a rectangular kirk with decent walls still standing, enough character in the stonework to make you want to linger, and views across Perthshire farmland that justify the short walk from the car park.

It's the kind of place where fifteen minutes becomes thirty without you noticing. History types will appreciate the sheer age of it - there's been a church on this spot since medieval times. Walkers doing longer circuits around Crieff will find it fits nicely into a morning's exploration. Families with young children might find the open ruin a bit underwhelming on its own, though it works as a stop-off rather than a destination in itself.

Free to visit, naturally. The setting is peaceful without being morose, and the stonework has that weathered authenticity that reconstructed sites simply can't match. If you're staying at Braidhaugh Holiday Lodge just down the road, this makes an easy ramble. Comrie Croft, further out but highly rated, sits well for a broader Perthshire walking circuit that takes in Muthill on the way. Go in decent weather - the exposed hilltop position means it can feel bleaker in rain.