RSPB Fowlsheugh

The cliffs at Fowlsheugh are absolutely mobbed with seabirds come spring and summer. You're talking thousands of them - guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars - all crammed onto the red sandstone faces like some sort of avian tower block. It's genuinely impressive, and a bit chaotic if you're honest.

The reserve sits just south of Stonehaven, and there's a proper clifftop walk that takes you right along the edge. Bring binoculars unless you fancy squinting at specs in the distance. The RSPB has done the sensible thing and built viewing areas back from the precipice, so you're not dodging puffins while trying to stay upright in the wind. Allow two hours if you want to do it properly and actually see something beyond a blur of wings.

It's free, which is rare enough to mention. Peak season runs April through August - go any other time and you'll find it half-empty and frankly less worth the journey. The walk itself isn't strenuous, though the path can be muddy after rain and that wind off the North Sea will test your nerve.

If you're camped at Cloak Caravan Park or Upper Crawton Park - both about a mile away - this makes an ideal morning out. It's not an all-day thing unless you're genuinely obsessed with ornithology, but combined with a wander round Stonehaven itself, it fills a couple of hours nicely. Kids will either find it fascinating or tedious within twenty minutes, depending on temperament.