House of Dun, Garden & Estate (National Trust for Scotland)

If you’re after a proper day out near Montrose, this one’s worth the drive. The guided tours are genuinely good — not the usual dry recitation, but the kind where you actually come away knowing something about the families who lived here. The walled gardens are well kept and the woodland walks give kids room to burn off energy while adults get a proper look around the estate. Shade trees along the paths make it manageable even on a rare sunny Scottish afternoon.