Sir Hector Munro Folly

You'll spot this one from miles away - a peculiar stone tower standing alone on high ground just outside Dingwall, impossible to miss and utterly bonkers in the best possible way. Built in 1800 by a local landowner with more money than sense, Sir Hector Munro's folly is exactly what it sounds like: a tower with no real purpose beyond ego and spectacle.

The structure itself is fairly modest, a simple cylindrical tower that looks like someone's architectural daydream gone slightly wrong. What makes it worth the detour is the walk up to it and the views across the Highlands once you're there. On a clear day you can see proper distance, which makes the effort feel justified.

It's not a major time commitment - allow an hour including the walk and a poke around the base. Families with older kids will find it interesting enough, though younger ones might get restless; there's no visitor centre or interpretation, just the tower and the Highland landscape. History enthusiasts will get a kick out of the sheer vanity of it all.

Freely accessible as far as we can tell, though there's nowhere official to park right at the site. If you're staying at Blackrock Caravan Park nearby, it's well placed for a morning ramble. Combine it with exploring Dingwall itself or push on to other Highland attractions in the region. Best visited when the weather's cooperating - on a dreich day it's just a wet walk to a stone tower.