One of Scotland’s great strongholds, Stirling Castle has been pivotal in the country’s history time and again. Its location – on a rock outcrop above a flat Forth Valley from which the Highlands slowly rise – put it at the country’s strategic centre and have made it the site of several battles.

The burly, impregnable-looking, castle evolved over centuries. The first fortifications date back to the Iron Age, but now it’s mostly 15th- and 16th-century. Its ad-hoc construction helped make the castle a wonderful place to explore and a real hit with kids: think multiple levels of battlements, cannon ports, hidden staircases and chambers, all interspersed with pretty gardens and lawns.

Also very child-friendly is the castle’s events programme, which include sword fights and tapestry weaving demos to bring the past alive.