Monday 30 May 2011

Discover a few outdoors secrets in Angus


At VisitScotland the campaign is "Surprise Yourself". With Scottish Natural Heritage, it's "Simple Pleasures". At Glentrek, we're loving the sentiments of both outdoors promotions. The VisitScotland goal is to get more people to discover more about Scotland.

It could be a beach you've never walked to or a hill view you have never experienced. Perhaps you have not ever travelled to Cape Wrath or taken a boat trip to see native dolphins in the Moray Firth.

There is so much to see and do and discover in Scotland that you could be finding new highlights for the rest of your life.

The SNH Simple Pleasures campaign is similar but aims for people to get outdoors more often to find the natural highlights and hotspots just a short walk or cycle from their own doorsteps. The SNH website reveals a wealth of walk and cycle routes close to the Scottish cities where people can find wildlife, skim stones, play Pooh sticks, identify a tree's age or splash in puddles. Lots of simple things that involve being outdoors and having fun.

In Angus, we reckon there is so much to discover in the great outdoors. We obviously recommend that you come for a visit but here we bring you a few highlights of our beautiful region for outdoors fans:

Walk an easier Munro: The Munros in Angus, including Mayar and Dreish, offer fabulous views and a fantastic walking trip but they are also among some of the easiest of the 283 Munros to walk across Scotland.

Famous birth place: The Angus town of Kirriemuir was home to the Peter Pan author J M Barrie and today his home is an interesting historical visitor attraction.

Gorgeous glens: Angus doesn't have just one beautiful glen but FIVE. The region might seem a little "glen greedy" but each glen boasts a beautiful range of walks and views.

Festival fun: We're just days away from the annual Angus Glens Walking Festival. It grows and grows and offers an ever wider range of walks for new comers and old-timers.

Trail of the Caterans: Angus was once a region inhabited by cattle thieves, the Caterans. The many trails and routes created by these lawless men have now become beautiful walking routes. The Cateran Trail is the UK's first long-distance circular waymarked walk.

Wonderful waterfall: The Reekie Linn waterfall (pictured above) is a spectacular waterfall located just a short walk from Craigisla Bridge on the B954. Sometimes the waterfall is two falls of 6m and 18m. But when in full spate it forms a single waterfall of 24m. Whatever time of year it's pretty awesome to view.

Does anyone else have any secret gems in Angus that they would like to share?