Alford Heritage Centre & Museum

The Heritage Centre sits bang in the middle of Alford's high street - you can't miss it. Inside, it's a fairly compact run through local life from the 1800s onwards: farming tools, domestic bits and bobs, old photographs that somehow all look the same sepia colour. The star turn is a full-size working threshing mill, which honestly is more interesting than it sounds once they get it going.

Truth is, you'll spend forty minutes here maximum, unless you're really into agricultural history or chasing down family connections in Aberdeenshire. It's the sort of place that works best as a thirty-minute stop between other things rather than a destination on its own. The staff are knowledgeable enough if you ask questions, but it feels a bit tired round the edges.

Families with younger kids might find the working mill engaging for a bit, but honestly they'll get restless. Walkers or history buffs passing through Alford will find it competent and local, which is fair enough. The real selling point? It's free entry, so you're not out of pocket if it's not your cup of tea.

If you're based at Haughton Holiday Park just down the road, it's worth the ten-minute walk on a rainy afternoon. Pair it with a wander round Alford's other attractions - the castle and the railway line are both nearby - and you've got yourself a half-day sorted.