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This is the only known resident population (they number around 130) of bottlenose dolphins in the North Sea.

A delicate tower house with the grace and detail of porcelain. Scottish Baronial style at its best, and with some lovely monkey-puzzle trees in the grounds (see Craigievar Castle) .

One of the three oldest surviving tower houses in Scotland, its High Hall unchanged since medieval times. In fact, it has been owned by just one family for 653 years!

Another exemplary 16th-century tower house, with original features in the Great Hall. Wonderful topiary in the ancient yew hedge.

Majestic Z-Plan tower house, which has survived many attacks and contains a treasury of furniture and paintings. In spring 400 species of daffodils are in bloom.

This astonishingly secret off-shoot of the National Galleries of Scotland is housed in an exquisite Georgian mansion. The collection includes works by Scottish greats Ramsay and Raeburn, as well as El Greco.

Once known as “the Lantern of the North”, this cathedral was burned out of spite by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390, but its ruins still draw a crowd.

When this working distillery closed it was preserved as a time capsule of whisky-making from 1898 to 1980. Beautifully done, and with a traditional free dram!

Quaint seaside resort with a harbour, an open-air Olympic-size swimming pool and a giant, playable draughts (checkers) board. Birds wheel and soar around the cliffs and Dunottar Castle (see Dunottar Castle) is a short drive away.

The once “noblest of northern castles” is now a grandiose ruin. Brilliant in terms of design, it retains many unique 13th-century features.