Corrie Hill

The walk up Corrie Hill near Auchleven is properly steep, but the effort pays off. You're looking at maybe 30 minutes of solid climbing through moorland before the views open out across Aberdeenshire - rolling farmland, distant hills, and on a clear day enough space to breathe properly. It's not dramatic in the Alpine sense; there's no knife-edge ridge or sudden drop that'll make your stomach flip. What you get instead is honest Scottish hill country, the kind that rewards walkers who don't need their peaks to be famous.

This one works best for anyone who enjoys a decent leg-stretch without needing paths carved into the hillside or visitor centres. Families with older kids will manage it fine - under 10s might find the unrelenting gradient a bit much. History types won't find anything particular here, though the landscape itself tells you plenty about how people have worked this land.

There's no charge and no real facilities at the summit, so pack water and something to eat if you're staying up there. Allow a couple of hours return if you're not rushing. It sits nicely as a morning excursion before heading to Haughton Holiday Park for the afternoon - only 3.9 miles away, so you're not burning petrol. The park itself has proper reviews, which means you won't be camping or caravanning in a dodgy spot before or after your hill day.