Best Places to Visit in Angus & Dundee
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Angus & Dundee are Edzell Blue Door Walk, Falls of Drumly Harry, Red Castle, Montrose Beach, Boddin Point Lime Kilns and Lunan Bay.
Angus runs from a long North Sea coast of sweeping beaches back into quiet glens where the Highlands begin, and its finest places gather along both. The coast holds the county's great beaches, the long golden sands of Lunan Bay, widely rated the finest in Angus, and the town shore at Montrose backed by dunes and birdlife.
Above Lunan stand the red sandstone ruins of Red Castle, first fortified under King William the Lion, and south along the shore the fort-like lime kilns of Boddin Point crumble on their windswept headland. Inland, the Blue Door walk leads through the wooded gorge of the North Esk near Edzell, where the Highlands meet the lowlands, and the little-known Falls of Drumly Harry drop in the quiet hills north of Forfar.
Some are well-known stretches of sand, others obscure corners known mostly to locals. Here are six places to visit across Angus and Dundee.
Edzell Blue Door Walk
Photo: Stanley Howe via Geograph.org.uk
The Blue Door Walk follows the River North Esk through a wooded gorge near Edzell in Angus, entered through an actual blue-painted door set in a wall. Beyond the door the path runs alongside the river as it cuts through the rocky narrows known as the Rocks of Solitude.
It can be walked as a there-and-back stroll or a longer riverside circuit. The gorge marks the line where the Highlands meet the lowlands, a quiet and scenic walk out of the village.
Falls of Drumly Harry
Photo: Elliott Simpson via Geograph.org.uk
The Falls of Drumly Harry are a little-known waterfall on the Noran Water in Glen Ogil, in the hills north of Forfar in Angus. The burn drops through quiet, out-of-the-way country near the hamlet of Auchnacree.
It is a genuinely obscure fall, marked on the maps but rarely visited and little written about, with little recorded of it beyond its name and rough position. It is a spot for those who like to explore the quiet glens away from the well-known routes.
Red Castle
Photo: Maigheach-gheal via Geograph.org.uk
Red Castle is a ruined castle standing on a grassy mound above the northern end of Lunan Bay in Angus, looking out over the wide sandy beach and the mouth of the Lunan Water. It is built of the local red sandstone, which gives it its name, and what survives is a tall tower and part of a thick curtain wall.
It was first fortified in the late twelfth century under King William the Lion, as a coastal defence, and was later fought over in a family dispute in the sixteenth century. The ruin is fragile and eroding, reached on a short walk and seen from the beach below.
Montrose Beach
Photo: Bill Harrison via Geograph.org.uk
Montrose Beach is a long stretch of firm golden sand backed by a ridge of dunes, running along the seaward edge of the town of Montrose in Angus. A promenade and a play and leisure area sit at the town end, with parking, shops and an old seafront pavilion, and the sand runs north for a few miles to the mouth of the River North Esk.
The Scurdie Ness lighthouse stands across the harbour to the south, and the estuary and dunes are rich in birdlife. Beyond the river the same sweep of shore carries on as the St Cyrus nature reserve.
Boddin Point Lime Kilns
Photo: Adrian Diack via Geograph.org.uk
The lime kilns at Boddin Point are a great fort-like block of stone standing at the tip of a rocky headland on the Angus coast, south of Montrose. Built in the eighteenth century, they are among the largest old limeworks in Scotland, a mass of rubble walls with arched openings and deep funnel-shaped pots where limestone was once burned to make lime.
Now ruined and slowly falling apart, undercut by caves and worn by the sea, parts have already collapsed. They sit right on the shore, weathered and gaunt, with wide views along the coast to Lunan Bay, and an old salmon station and the Elephant Rock arch nearby.
Lunan Bay
Photo: Nigel Corby via Geograph.org.uk
Lunan Bay is a long, sweeping sandy beach on the Angus coast between Arbroath and Montrose, widely rated the finest beach in the county. The Lunan Water crosses the sand and splits the beach in two, easiest to cross at low tide, and dunes back the shore, with sea caves and a natural rock arch at the northern end.
On a mound above the bay stand the ruins of Red Castle, named for the local red sandstone, first fortified in the late twelfth century under King William the Lion. A signed track leads down to a car park and cafe at the hamlet of Lunan.
FAQs
Which is the best beach in Angus?
Lunan Bay, a long sweeping stretch of sand between Arbroath and Montrose, is widely rated the finest in the county, with the Lunan Water splitting it in two, dunes behind, and sea caves and a rock arch at the northern end. The ruins of Red Castle stand on a mound above the bay.
What is the Edzell Blue Door Walk in Angus?
The Edzell Blue Door Walk is a riverside walk near Edzell in Angus that follows the River North Esk through a wooded gorge, entered through an actual blue-painted door set in a wall. Beyond it the path runs past the rocky narrows called the Rocks of Solitude, marking the line where the Highlands meet the lowlands.
What are the Boddin Point lime kilns near Montrose?
The Boddin Point lime kilns are a great fort-like block of eighteenth-century limeworks on a rocky headland south of Montrose, among the largest in Scotland, where limestone was once burned to make lime. Now ruined and undercut by the sea, they stand gaunt on the shore, with an old salmon station and the Elephant Rock arch nearby.
Conclusion
Angus pairs a glorious coast with quiet inland glens, and its best places run between the two. Lunan Bay sweeps golden between Arbroath and Montrose, widely called the finest beach in the county, with Red Castle ruined on its mound above and the fort-like Boddin lime kilns crumbling on their headland to the south.
Montrose keeps its long town beach backed by dunes and birdlife. Inland, the Blue Door walk threads the wooded gorge of the North Esk near Edzell where the Highlands begin, and the obscure Falls of Drumly Harry drop in the hills north of Forfar.
From well-known sands to hidden falls, these are the places to seek out across Angus and Dundee.
