Tillybirloch

The walk up Tillybirloch, near Midmar in Aberdeenshire, rewards you with views across the Highlands that justify the effort. It's a proper hill rather than a mountain - nothing too technical, but steep enough to feel like you've earned the summit. The landscape opens up as you climb, moving from farmland into rougher moorland. On a clear day you can see for miles across rolling hills and distant peaks.

This is walker territory, honestly. The sort of place where you'll spend a couple of hours total including breaks, and you'll be pleasantly knackered afterwards. Families with older kids who don't mind a gradient will get on fine. Toddlers and prams, not so much.

There's no visitor centre or facilities at the top - bring water and a packed lunch if you want one. The hill is accessible year-round, though winter can make it boggy and muddy underfoot. Spring and autumn are probably your best bet, when the weather's more reliable and the light's lovely.

If you're basing yourself at Greenpark Leisure just down the road, Tillybirloch makes a cracking morning outing before heading back for lunch. It slots nicely into a broader walking itinerary around Aberdeenshire - plenty of other hills and estates in the area to keep you occupied for a week. The climb itself is manageable, even if the plateau can be windswept and exposed. Worth doing once, certainly. Whether you'll want to repeat it depends on your appetite for Highland moorland.