Pitmedden House, Monument

The gardens at Pitmedden are a fair bit of work to restore, but the National Trust for Scotland has done it properly. What you're looking at is a seventeenth-century formal garden - the kind that takes your breath away when you round the corner and see the full geometric layout spread out before you. Box hedges, herbaceous borders, fountains at the centre. It's the sort of place that makes you understand why the Victorians went mad for gardens.

Histor buffs will spend a good couple of hours here without noticing the time. The house itself tells the story of northeast Scotland - layer upon layer of it. If gardens aren't your thing, frankly, you might get through in forty minutes. Kids will either love the space to run around or find it a bit static depending on age and temperament.

The site's free to wander the grounds, though there's a modest charge if you want inside the house properly. It's open most days in summer, closed winters - so check ahead. Kingswells is just down the road if you need supplies or a break.

If you're basing yourself at Hillhead Caravan Park nearby, this makes a cracking half-day. The weather in Aberdeenshire can be moody, so go when it's clear - the formal layout looks infinitely better when the sun's actually out. Pair it with a drive through Royal Deeside and you've got a decent day sorted.