'Pitlochry in Bloom' Park

The spring display here is genuinely brilliant - thousands of bulbs planted across sloping beds that face south, so you get the full force of colour from March through May. Daffodils first, then tulips, then the late bloomers. It's not a wild nature reserve in the traditional sense; this is proper horticulture on show, the kind of place where the local council has clearly invested time and money to make Pitlochry look good.

You're walking through a designed landscape rather than exploring untamed scrub, which means families with young children won't get lost, and the paths are well maintained. Most people do the circuit in 40 minutes to an hour. The views back towards the town and across the Tummel Valley are decent, especially if you time it right and the light's good.

Go for the flowers, not the wildlife. If you're expecting a bird sanctuary or rare plants, you'll be disappointed. But if you like a proper Victorian-style bedding display - the kind Britain does without fuss - it's well worth an afternoon visit when staying at Milton Of Fonab Caravan Park or Faskally Woods Holiday Park just up the road.

Admission details weren't entirely clear from the information available, so ring ahead before you go. Peak season is April and early May when everything's flowering at once. Outside those months it's rather ordinary, to be honest. The town itself has plenty of other draws - the fish ladder at the dam, good pubs, decent walks - so Pitlochry in Bloom fits neatly into a wider exploration of the area.