Big five in Angus

Scotland is divided into 32 council areas and few are unsung yet as brimming with visitor possibilities as Angus. Spreading north of the vibrant city of Dundee, this region is often overlooked by tourists keen to rush up to the castle-dotted coastline of Aberdeenshire or into the Cairngorms National Park, within whose forested peaks and heather-strewn moors nestles Balmoral, the British royals’ favourite summer escape. But it’s worth lingering in Angus. Here are five options.

GLAMIS CASTLE

Featured in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and regularly touted among Scotland’s most haunted castles, Glamis was the childhood home of Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother (and the birthplace of Princess Margaret). After making it up the castle’s epic driveway, you’ll hear tales of royals, warriors and ghosts on guided tours of this imposing country pile, which has been in the Lyon family since 1372. Expanded over the centuries, adorned with towers, turrets, eclectic furniture and family portraits, the castle sits on a near 6000ha estate that changes appearance throughout the year. Visitors can enjoy walks through woodland nature trails, a pinetum and an Italian-style garden.

KIRRIEMUIR

Fans of fairytales and rock music are drawn to this wee town 10 minutes from Glamis Castle. J.M. Barrie’s birthplace is a visitor attraction housed in the whitewashed weaver’s cottage in which the Peter Pan creator was born in 1860. Now managed by the National Trust for Scotland, the museum delves into Barrie’s youth and reveals where he found inspiration for his fantastical stories and characters. A new wooden sculpture of Tick Tock, the crocodile from Peter Pan, graces the cottage’s jungle-themed garden.

Elsewhere in Kirriemuir, you’ll see a life-size bronze statue of Bon Scott, the late AC/DC singer. Born Ronald Bedford Scott in nearby Forfar, he spent his early years in Kirriemuir before emigrating with his family to Australia in 1952. After initially settling in Melbourne, the Scotts relocated out west to Fremantle. Beside Bon’s statue, a board charts his short but eventful life (he was found dead in a car in London, aged 33, in 1980, and his ashes were later scattered in Fremantle cemetery, where his memorial still pulls in AC/DC fans).

THE GLENS

The so-called Five Glens of Angus, north of Kirriemuir, are a favourite for drivers, cyclists and hikers in the know. This quintet of lush and rugged glacier-carved valleys are overlooked by the peaks of the Grampian Mountains, which roll through the Cairngorms National Park. Twisting roads and marked trails etch the glens and promise splendid scenery in all directions. Keep an eye out for the famous Aberdeen Angus cattle and if you’re looking for a special challenge, you may wish to “bag” a Munro or two. In Scotland, a Munro is a summit of 3000ft (914m) or above, and there are 10 such peaks within these glens. One of the rockiest is Mayar, which rises 928m by the dramatically picturesque Corrie Fee nature reserve. As well as Kirremuir, the market towns of Brechin and Forfar are good for resting up and getting refreshments before or after your glens outing.

CARNOUSTIE

Alluring potential pit stops also line Angus’ coast. And if you’re into golf, there’s no skipping Carnoustie. Famed for its tricky Championship links course, the town has hosted The Open, one of the sport’s major tournaments, eight times, with its fairways, greens and bunkers unfurling beside the North Sea. They’ve been playing golf in Carnoustie for centuries and it was Carnoustie expats who went on to establish the Professional Golfers Associations of both Australia and the United States. Between May and October, green fees for adults at Carnoustie start at £120 ($235) for the Buddon and Burnside courses, with a round on the iconic Championship course costing almost triple that. For the cheapest rates, come in low season (April), but you’ll need to wrap up, particularly if the Baltic winds are whipping in off the sea.

COASTAL FLAVOURS

Alternatively, you could stretch your legs on Angus’ beautiful 68km coastal path, which begins just outside Dundee and is split into smaller sections. It’ll take you a good few hours to walk from Carnoustie to Arbroath, a fishing town synonymous with its ruined medieval abbey and “smokies” — that’s haddock smoked over hardwood and, like Champagne and Stilton Blue Cheese, boasting a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). To qualify as a genuine “Arbroath smokie”, it must be done using the traditional methods and within an 8km radius of town. You can sample it at cafes and restaurants in Arbroath. A bit further up the Angus coast is Lunan Bay, one of Scotland’s prettiest dune-backed beaches. By the barley fields above, the Arbikie Distillery crafts sustainable whisky, gin and vodka, and offers tours, tipples, meals, and accommodation at its new rustic-chic cabins with saunas. Close by, in the port town of Montrose, birders will be in their element at the huge tidal basin and wildlife reserve that’s home to more than 100,000 migratory birds, including pink-footed geese, wigeon and kingfishers. North of Montrose, Angus blends into Aberdeenshire and you’ll be tempted to press on up the craggy coast to the historic university city of Aberdeen. That is another rewarding base and springboard for Scottish adventures.

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Scotland and Visit Britain. They have not influenced or read this story before publication.

fact file

+ Dundee and the wider Angus area is just over an hour’s drive north of Edinburgh. For more information on visiting the region, see visitangus.com

+ To help plan a trip to Scotland and Britain, see visitscotland.com and visitbritain.com