Marquis Hill

The walk up Marquis Hill takes you through proper Aberdeenshire woodland - dense pine and birch that feels properly remote even though you're only a few miles from Arbroath. It's not a steep climb, which means families with younger legs won't be complaining halfway up.

What you get at the top is a decent vantage point across the Highlands. On a clear day - and they do happen - you can pick out the shapelier peaks further west. The forest itself is the real draw though. It's the kind of place where you actually hear birdsong rather than just your own footsteps echoing back at you.

Allow a couple of hours if you're taking it slowly and want to sit about at the summit. Twenty minutes up, twenty back if you're just after a proper walk and nothing else. The paths are reasonably maintained, though muddy stretches are inevitable in Scottish woodland.

It works well alongside The Grange Glamping just down the way - you can do this in the morning, be back for a late breakfast. Walkers will rate it more than casual strollers; there's not much to see except trees and sky, which is rather the point. Kids get bored without a cairn to climb or a viewfinder to squint through, so gauge your own crew accordingly.

Free to access, no visitor centre, no facilities. Bring water.