Angus and Dundee - 71 places to stay
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Home to Lady MacBeth, Desperate Dan, Ospreys, the Arbroath Smokie , and the final resting place for the RSS Discovery after its ill-fated journey to the South Pole – Angus and Dundee is rich in legend, myth, history and culture. It’s a fantastic place, smuggled away in Scotland’s north-east and easily conquered by car – thrill seekers, however, may choose to don crampons to help them scale the testing peaks of the Cairngorms range that crowns the area’s north-west. With 65 miles of coastline looking out to the North Sea, ten munroes towering over its north-western shoulder, and the rolling verdure of Strathmore, hydrated by spring water, Angus and Dundee is a charmed pocket of Scotland. The Picts called much of this area home. The town of Eassie gives its name to the Eassie Stone, a prehistoric relic its carvings give only a hint of the area’s wealth of history, Arbroath , too, has a collection of Pictish relics. And it is in Eassie’s neighbourhood that Scotland’s most famous castle – haunted, cursed and once home to the Queen Mother – lies brooding in the quiet Angus town of Glamis. The foreboding Glamis Castle is not only home to the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne; within the secretive walls is said to lurk the Monster of Glamis, who some say is a child contorted by deformity haunting the castle. There are also stories of monsters in the nearby loch Calder, and vampire children: Glamis has an atmosphere that could rival its Transilvanian kin. William Shakespeare is probably to blame; it was he who endowed the castle to the murderous Lady MacBeth, condemning the castle to periodic visitations by ghosts and ghouls. All in the imagination? You decide: Glamis Castle is open to the public, and part of it can be rented for private functions. Back in the land of the living – though arguably less palatial – is the city of Dundee . Lying to the south-east of Angus, nestled against the banks of the River Tay, Dundee is the City Of Discovery, a once economic powerhouse it was once known for jute, jam and journalism. And yes, Desperate Dan calls it home. Built on the money from jute, Dundee was known as Juteopolis – a name it proudly defended until cheaper imports from India killed off Dundee’s jute mills. Its reputation for jam came from Janet Keiller. When she transformed some unpalatable Seville oranges into marmalade she inadvertently created a breakfast time phenomenon. Journalism was the preserve of DC Thomson and Co. Publishers of the The People’s Friend, The Beano and the Sunday Post – DC Thomson’s produce more than 200 million newspapers, magazines and comics each year. They also publish the Dandy, and that’s why the world’s hungriest cowboy Desperate Dan can call Dundee home. Dundee is also where the RSS Discovery is faithfully preserved, where Robert Falcon Scott ’s steps can be retraced without the cold getting to you. Away from Juteopolis, Angus is an area dotted with quaint wee towns. Places whose modest proportions bely their significance to Scotland’s history. Take Arbroath, a quiet fishing village famed for its Smokies; but aside from its golden-brown smoked haddock, in 1320, it was the cradle of Scottish independence as Scotland’s nobility declared independence from England. The Declaration of Arbroath may not have lasted into the 21st Century, but the Abbey where the oaths were sworn still stands, albeit in ruins. Celebrate Arbroath’s intimate relationship with the sea at the Arbroath Sea Fest. Ride the town’s miniature railway, and walk along the town’s promenade for a moment’s reflection. Arbroath is the biggest town in Angus – with a population of just over 27,000 – but it’s still a great, unhurried wee town. So too Forfar , with its bridies, its centrality to the whole of Angus – the area was known as Forfarshire until 1928 – and the fact that it lies so close to the scene of one of the most defining battles in Scotland’s history just makes it all the more important. The Battle of Nechtansmere, 685AD; the Picts defeat the Northumbrian Angles, stopping the invaders in their tracks and securing the Pictish kingdom. Scotland would have been very different had King Bridei Mac Bili and his army failed. Like Glamis, the town of Edzell , just a short drive north of Brechin , has a castle with a mysterious past. Built in 1520 by David Lindsay, 9th Earl Of Crawford, only for his son, Sir David Lindsay, Lord Edzell, to build a walled garden round the castle in 1604. Easy on the eye – with red sandstone bricks and its garden – Edzell was not built for the trebuchet and siege defence. Cromwell occupied it in his comprehensive invasion of Scotland in the 1650s. But unlike some other castles, Edzell still stands, a category A listed building; it was always more of a country house than fortress, and that is probably why it was not ruined. Angus has plenty of areas of natural beauty. Its glens – the five Angus Glens – boast dramatic mountain landscapes giving way to some magnificent walking country, amidst spring-water streams, lochs and forestry, home to ospreys, deer and eagles. The Glens lie to the north-west of the area – Glen Doll leads the way into the Cairngorms National Park, and all the grandeur that you would come to expect from the Scottish Highlands.
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Destinations
Recommended Hotels See Map
- The Townhouse Arbroath *featured*
Licensed, Restaurant - Broughty Ferry Hotel Broughty Ferry *featured*
Licensed, Restaurant - Apex City Quay Hotel and Spa Dundee *featured*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Pool, Gym, Parking, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - Camperdown Wildlife Centre Dundee *featured*
Licensed, Restaurant - Craigtay Hotel Dundee *featured*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Parking, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - Shaftesbury Lodge Dundee *featured*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Parking, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - Links Hotel Montrose *featured*
Licensed, Restaurant
Hotels bookable online See Map
- Letham Grange Golf Hotel & Country Estate Arbroath *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - Loch Side Lodge and Roundhouse Restaurant Bridgend of Lintrathen *book online*
Licensed, Restaurant - Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort Broughty Ferry *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant, Satellite TV - Carnoustie Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa Carnoustie *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Pool, Gym, Restaurant, Satellite TV, Conference Facilities - Dundee Carlton Hotel Dundee *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant - Dundee Hilton Dundee *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant - Queens Hotel Dundee *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - West Park Dundee *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - Your Hotel Dundee *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant - Glenesk Hotel Edzell *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Pool, Gym, Restaurant, Conference Facilities - Chapelbank Hotel Forfar *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant, Satellite TV, Conference Facilities - Castleton House Hotel Glamis *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant - Lochside Lodge & Roundhouse Restaurant Kirriemuir *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant - Best Western Links Hotel Montrose *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant, Satellite TV, Conference Facilities - Park Hotel Montrose *book online*
Licensed, Parking, Historic, Restaurant
Bed and Breakfast See Map
- Blairdene Guest House Arbroath *featured*
TV in rooms, No Smoking, Historic, Parking - Gramarcy House Brechin *featured*
TV in rooms, Children Welcome, No Smoking, Historic, Parking - Abertay Guest House Broughty Ferry *featured*
TV in rooms - Ashley House Broughty Ferry *featured*
TV in rooms - Alcorn Guest House Dundee *featured*
TV in rooms - Ashley House Guest House Dundee *featured*
TV in rooms - Errolbank Guest House Dundee *featured*
TV in rooms, No Smoking, Historic, Parking - Marlee Guest House Dundee *featured*
TV in rooms, No Smoking, Historic, Parking - Milton House Hotel Dundee *featured*
TV in rooms, No Smoking, Historic - The New Dundee Carlton Hotel Dundee *featured*
TV in rooms, Historic, Parking - Chapel House B&B Montrose *featured*
TV in rooms, No Smoking, Historic
Pubs & Inns
- Northern Hotel Brechin *book online*
Food, Historic, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards - Longforgan Coaching Inn Dundee *book online*
Food, Historic, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards - The Milton Inn Monifieth *book online*
Food, Historic, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards
Self-Catering See Map
- Greenden Brechin *book online*
Pub Nearby, Garden, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards - Kinnaird Castle Brechin *book online*
Pub Nearby, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards - Scottish Golf Apartments Carnoustie *book online*
Pub Nearby, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards - Garden View Coupar *book online*
Pub Nearby, Garden, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards - Holiday Cottages & Lodges Throughout Angus *book online*
Pub Nearby, Open all year, Parking, Credit Cards
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