The RRS Discovery and V&A Dundee

Outdoors

2 Days in Dundee & Angus - Things to Do

Dundee & Angus is a fantastic region to explore. The compact city bustle of Dundee combined with the lush countryside of Angus, gives you the perfect place to uncover the best of both worlds, without having to travel too far. From a rich design heritage and cutting-edge architecture, to magnificent castles that have starred on the big screen and miles of rolling hills, glen and landscapes, Dundee & Angus is ready to blow you away!

We caught up with Louise Nicoll who owns Newton Farm Holidays and offers an incredible farm stay experience, as featured in our video, to bring to you some of the top recommendations for things to do and places to visit in the region. This is just a snippet of the things you can try in Dundee & Angus, but we hope it will inspire you to venture further around the region and explore every inch. Find out more about Louise.

Check directly with the businesses before visiting on their reopening date, and look out for the Good to Go scheme logo, which shows which businesses have carried out a Covid-19 risk assessment.

Transport

Car Walk

Days

2

Miles

30

Route

Dundee, Forfar, Glamis

Highlights

Glamis Castle, Forbes of Kingennie, Verdant Works

Areas Covered

Dundee & Angus

Day 1

overview

Dundee

Nestled on the banks of the River Tay, Dundee is a vibrant and dynamic city. Named a UNESCO City of Design, and Scotland's hottest city, roam the streets of Dundee marvelling at the creativity of the architecture and buildings as you go. Visit some of the top attractions, tuck into delicious dishes at local eateries, and delve into the fascinating past of this modern wonder.

Miles

10
Km

16
Stops

3
Transport

Car Walk Car

Explore Stop
Stop 1
Stop 2
Stop 3

Verdant Works

Starting off in the city, head to Verdant Works, Scotland's Jute Museum, which tells the detailed story of Dundee's industrial textile heritage. Soak up the atmosphere of the 19th century cobbled streets in this beautifully refurbished mill where you can relive a very important part of the city's history. Find out how jute was harvested in India and how, or why, it made its way to Dundee. You can also learn what a 'kettle biler' is, visit a Victorian school, get involved in exciting family activities and much more.

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The McManus Museum & Art Gallery

The McManus Art Gallery and Museum is a spectacular gallery and well worth a visit. Housed within a splendid Gothic revival-style building in the very heart of the city, the museum boasts eight galleries crammed full of exhibits about the history of Dundee, as well as fine art and world cultures.

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Forbes of Kingennie

Journey just outside the city centre to Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort - a brilliant place to eat, as well as stay in the cosy lodges and try your hand at fishing or golf. Immerse yourself in the relaxed atmosphere of this countryside getaway where you can enjoy a waterside restaurant, the Cairn O'Mount Bar, a 9-hole golf course, a 18-hole Cairngorms putting green, five fishing pools, a maze, and lots more, making this the perfect holiday destination, whether you're looking for a short break or a week-long stay. Stay on the resort and cosy into luxury self-catering woodland and waterside lodges - a great choice for a romantic weekend getaway.

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Day 2

overview

Forfar

Easily accessible from Dundee and Aberdeen, this traditional market town was once the centre of the ancient Kingdom of the Picts. Just a 30-minute drive from Dundee, Forfar was famous for its witches and mythical tales, which you can find out more about at the Meffan Museum. Take a local walk to soak in the beautiful views, visit indoor Angus Farmers' Market for delicious fresh produce, and uncover if you have any local family history at the Angus Archives.

Miles

20
Km

32
Stops

4
Transport

Car Walk Car

Macbeth, Glamis Castle, Angus

Explore Stop
Stop 1
Stop 2
Stop 3
Stop 4

Newton Farm Holidays

In Forfar, enjoy a stay at Newton Farm Holidays for an authentic and unique back-to-nature farm stay experience. Cosy up in the farmhouse, make friends with the sheep, cows, alpacas and Lucy the micro pig, your new neighbours, enjoy a farm tour and venture on a fun alpaca experience and walk.licious fresh produce, and uncover if you have any local family history at the Angus Archives.

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Ogilvy Vodka and The Bothy Experience

En route to Glamis you'll come across Ogilvy Vodka. Scotland's first producers of potato vodka, this local family farm undertakes every part of the vodka-making process, from growing the potatoes, to distilling and hand-bottling. The farm now features a visitor centre where you can take a tour to learn all about the various process that go into producing award-winning single estate premium vodka.

If gin is more your cup of tea, don't miss The Bothy Experience at Glamis too, which is home to the award-winning Gin Bothy. Learn about the wonderful story attached to how this business came about, which relates back to the history of the area, as well as visiting the free attraction and Bothy Larder Shop where you can sample their full gin range and locally sourced food too.

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House of Dun Garden & Estate

The House of Dun is an elegant Georgian country house, designed by architect William Adam. The house and shop are closed at the moment, but the glorious gardens and woodlands surrounding it are open and beautiful to explore in the autumn and winter months.

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Montrose Basin Visitor Centre

The surrounding area of the Montrose Basin is full of woodland walks. Take the easy walk (2 miles/3.2 km) to the bird hide to watch for the resident wildlife. Pop into the Visitor Centre to learn more about the species, grab a coffee and purchase something from the gift shop.

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Learn a bit More About Louise

OK, next so a bit of history about us then. We have a very organic development. We are a traditional working family farm and I married my husband in 1997. At the time I was only involved with the paperwork side of the business whilst I was in full time employment. I left my job in 2003 after having twins very prematurely and since then have become more involved with the farm. Firstly, I started offering farmhouse B&B in 2006 (my parents had a B&B in the town of Forfar and had overspill during the Glamis Extravaganza). This then led to us converting one cottage into self-catering in 2009 when it became available.

As more visitors became interested in the farm we realised there was a marketing opportunity to link all the businesses together. Firstly, we rehomed some animals to in 2012/13 - alpacas, a micropig and goats to add interest for guests during their stay as our sheep and cattle could be in far off fields. Then finally came the farm tours, experiences and alpaca walking. This launched in 2017 (and) I am particularly proud of all this as it’s all been my idea and effort in making it work. My husband really just wants to get on with the farming side and I have a huge passion for the animals and customer care so sharing our family’s life has been really special and very unique.

Hopefully this has given you an insight into our business. Visitors are always shocked by how much work we have to do and that we don't have staff, just Graeme and I with a little help from our twins sometimes. This year we have taken on an apprentice as I am passionate also about educating and helping to develop the young workforce. We are also dog friendly for our farm tours and accommodation which for a farm with livestock is pretty rare as most don’t normally allow dogs. The only experience limited to dogs is the alpaca walking as by their very nature they will chase dogs.

Our farm really is a great place to visit as it’s so unique and authentic. We are not corporate; your experience is with ourselves the farming family (normally me) so I can answer everything as it’s our life. Every experience is unique as you never know what is going to happen on the farm day to day. We also have many friendly named animals so it’s such a unique experience to have sheep running to see people and not away and then there’s the highland cows, alpacas, goats, and Lucy the micropig who came from a flat in Dundee. It’s all about their life and our life and how we interact but still remain as a working family farm. It’s all about educating visitors about where their food comes from and promoting animal welfare and the reality of farming and what we face day to day both good and bad (but mainly good).

Another fact about me is I'm on 8 committees including charities, local sports organisations, tourism bodies, etc. I'm very passionate about supporting the community where I can. To escape the farm, I started playing rugby 2 years ago at 45! We really struggle to escape the farm however; we are planning a trip to the Island of Muck later this year as my son leaves on Monday to go there for a 1-year college placement in gamekeeping. Very exciting times ahead and I'm really looking forward to this. We don't leave Angus much as it has such a diverse geography and you can experience so much in such a small area from beaches to the glens, forests to farmland, towns and city. If we do we actually enjoy going to Edinburgh but not when its busy as we don’t like crowds. To be honest anywhere we can enjoy a couple of nights off with good local food is my idea of enjoyment.

2 Days in Dundee & Angus - Things to Do