The Kelpies

You round a bend on the approach to Clackmannan and suddenly there they are - two colossal horse heads rising 30 metres out of the landscape like something from a fever dream. The Kelpies are genuinely arresting: cast-iron sculptures of mythical water horses, gleaming in the Fife light and visible for miles around.

They're free to walk around, which is just as well because there's not masses to do once you're there. You park up, stretch your legs, take the obligatory photo, and admire the engineering. The detail is genuinely impressive - the musculature, the manes caught mid-gallop - and they're far more powerful in person than any picture suggests. Allow 20 minutes unless you're the sort to sit and sketch.

Historically minded visitors will get a kick out of them. They commemorate the old Falkirk Wheel and Scotland's canal heritage, rooted in proper folklore about shape-shifting water horses. Kids often find them brilliant - there's something primal about such enormous horses appearing out of nowhere.

If you're based at Highland Gateway Glamping or West Fife Pods, the Kelpies make an easy afternoon detour between other attractions rather than a destination in themselves. Go at golden hour if you can - the light hits them beautifully and you'll dodge the day-trippers. Winter's quieter too, though less photogenic. They're worth the 10-minute diversion, genuinely, but don't expect a full morning.