Purchase Cairn

Out on the moorland near Ballater stands Purchase Cairn, a Bronze Age burial mound that's genuinely easy to miss if you don't know where you're looking. It's a modest stone heap really, but that's rather the point - what you're standing at is a 3,000-year-old grave marker, and that weight of time hits different when you're actually there.

The walk to it takes you across open Highland landscape with decent views across Aberdeenshire. It's not a long trek, but you'll want proper boots because the ground can be boggy. History enthusiasts will get the most from this one - it rewards a bit of research beforehand about Bronze Age burial practices. Kids might find it underwhelming unless they're already into archaeology; it's a bump in the ground, ultimately, not a fortress or a waterfall.

The real appeal is the solitude and the sense of place. You're genuinely off the tourist trail here, which is exactly what some visitors want. There's no visitor centre, no car park, nothing like that - just the cairn itself and the moorland around it. Free to visit, naturally.

If you're staying at Howe of Torbeg holiday park nearby, it's worth the short drive over on a quiet afternoon, perhaps combined with exploring Ballater itself. Don't make it your main stop of the day, but if you're interested in Bronze Age Scotland and fancy a proper walk in open country, it does the job.