Meet Law

The walk up Meet Law takes about forty minutes from Stonehaven, and it's one of those Scottish hills that rewards you properly without demanding rock-climbing skills. You get proper views across Aberdeenshire farmland and out towards the coast - on a clear day you can see the Mearns stretching away in every direction. The path itself is straightforward enough, though it's a real slog on the legs in the last quarter when the gradient kicks up.

This is walkers' territory, full stop. Families with young kids might find it a bit much unless the children are already used to steep ground. Forty minutes up means forty minutes down, and little ones do flag. That said, there's nothing technical about it - no scrambling, no exposure - so it's not dangerous, just tiring.

Freeze a clear morning for it if you can. The view changes completely when the cloud rolls in from the North Sea, and you'll lose most of what makes the effort worthwhile. Allow a solid ninety minutes to two hours for the whole thing, including a breather at the top.

If you're based at Upper Crawton Park or Cloak Caravan Park - both just a few miles away - this makes a cracking morning's work before heading back for lunch. Stonehaven itself is close enough that you could combine it with a coastal walk or a proper look round the town. It's the sort of hill that doesn't take the whole day but leaves you genuinely glad you went.