Hidden Angus: Quiet Corners Worth the Drive

Some places you visit in Angus, and some you have to seek out. This is a list of the second kind.

The guidebooks send everyone to the same handful of car parks, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you fancy a slower day, a quieter walk, the sort of spot where you might not meet another soul, I've got five of my favourites for you.

Pick one. Don't try to cram them all into an afternoon. That rather defeats the point.

Reekie Linn

A waterfall on the River Isla, up in Glen Isla, reached by a short woodland walk from a picnic car park (VisitAngus and Walkhighlands both point you the right way).

It's a proper gorge, and the drops are steep and unfenced, so keep the wits about you and small feet away from the edge. But the sound of it after rain is worth the drive on its own.

One of those places locals know and visitors usually miss.

The Caterthuns

Two Iron Age hillforts, the Brown and the White, sitting about a kilometre apart in the hills. Free to visit, open all year, and looked after by Historic Environment Scotland.

The reward is the view. On a clear day you get the whole of Strathmore laid out below you, and hardly anyone up there to share it with.

Take the binoculars. You won't be disappointed.

Seaton Cliffs

Just along from Arbroath, this is a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve with a red-sandstone cliff path heading towards Auchmithie.

It's the colour that gets you first, that warm rust-red stone. Then you start noticing the wildflowers along the path and the seabirds nesting in the cliffs. Fulmars wheeling about, kittiwakes further along if you're lucky.

Wear something with grip. Sandstone and sea spray are a slippery pairing.

Glen Prosen

Of all the Angus glens, this is the quiet one. VisitAngus will tell you the same. It's linked to neighbouring Glen Clova by the old Minister's Path over the moor, but you don't have to go far in to feel the hush of it.

This is a glen for doing very little. A slow drive, a flask, a walk as short or as long as the legs fancy.

Lunan Bay and Red Castle

A wide sweep of sand on the Angus coast, watched over by the ruined Red Castle, a 12th-century stronghold that was built for William the Lion (a lovely bit of history to have looming over your beach walk).

It's long enough that even on a decent day you can find your own stretch. The kind of beach you leave feeling properly windswept and better for it.

A word on the weather

I'll be honest with you: this is the east coast of Scotland, and it does what it likes. You might get all four seasons before lunch.

So take a layer more than you think you need, check the forecast, and don't write off a grey day. Reekie Linn is better in the wet, and an empty beach in the wind has its own sort of magic.

Then come home to the quiet. Spend the day out among the hills and the sea, and let the evening back here be still. That's the Foresterseat way.

Have a look at foresterseat.co.uk when you're ready to plan your stay.

Emma x