Tantallon Castle

The moment you round the bend on the A198 near Dunbar and see Tantallon's red sandstone walls rising from that headland, you understand why folk fought so hard to keep this place. It's properly dramatic - three massive walls creating a fortress that juts into the Firth of Forth like a defiant fist.

You're walking through 14th-century foundations here. The castle's best days were centuries ago, but what remains tells a fierce story. The main curtain wall is extraordinary - still standing tall despite centuries of Scottish weather and English cannon fire. You can wander the ruins at your own pace, picking out the old kitchen, the gun emplacements, the chambers where someone once lived rather well.

History buffs will spend a good couple of hours poking around. Kids find it less immediately gripping unless they're into climbing walls and imagining siege warfare - the site's fairly open and unstructured, so there's no "what's next" feeling. The views across to the Bass Rock are the real draw, honestly. Weather permitting, this is worth your time. On a grey day when the wind's coming straight off the sea, it's bleaker than bleak.

If you're basing yourselves at Belhaven Bay Caravan Park just down the road, Tantallon makes a sensible half-day jaunt. Parking's decent and the approach walk is brief. Check what they're charging before you go - admission isn't always free - and dress for wind.