Scotstown Beach

The cliffs at Scotstown drop straight into the North Sea with a violence that takes your breath away. You don't get soft sandy stretches here - this is granite meeting water, and the rocks are the colour of old concrete polished to a shine by centuries of salt spray.

It's a proper walk to get down, and not one for flip-flops. The path's steep enough to make your calves burn on the way back up, which is why most casual tourists skip it entirely. That's their loss. Once you're at beach level, you've got space to breathe - literal space, the kind you don't find at the busier Aberdeenshire spots further south.

Historically minded types will appreciate that this stretch of coast tells stories. The rocks themselves are 400 million years old, and they've been carved and smoothed by everything the North Atlantic can throw at them. Photographers come here for the light and the drama, especially when the weather turns moody. Kids with a taste for rock pools and proper exploring will get hours out of it; toddlers and the reluctant-walker brigade will find it a bit much.

If you're based at Peterhead Marina Bay Holiday Park - just four miles away - this is worth the short drive. Allow a solid two hours if you want to descend, nose about properly, and make it back up without gasping. Go when the tide's out; the extra beach reveals itself and you'll understand why locals bother with the steep approach.