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Welcome to Angus, to the Festival and to a
walking opportunity, which we believe will open
your eyes, stimulate your senses and reveal to
you many of the hidden treasures of this
enigmatic part of Scotland.
For the sixth consecutive year the organisers
invite you to explore the Angus Glens, perhaps
one of Scotland’s best kept secrets.
The award-winning four-day Festival is now
engraved in the very fabric of Scotland’s
outdoor activities calendar. It includes evening
entertainment as well as walks to suit all tastes
and abilities. Experienced mountain leaders,
many of whom live or work locally, will guide
you on each walk and Countryside Rangers will
support your experience with their knowledge
of local history, wildlife and farming.
The Angus Glens extend like the fingers of your
hand from the rich lowlands (straths) towards the high mountains,
which form the southern edge of the Cairngorms National Park. Glens
Isla, Prosen, Clova, Doll, Lethnot and Esk will all be explored
during the Walking Festival, at both high and low level.
Each Glen has its own character, but they share
a common beauty and variety of terrain and scenery, ranging from
fast-flowing rivers in the farmland of the valley floors, through
forestry and crag up to the high ridges and plateaux, where there
are several superb glacial lochs.
Glen Clova, the straightest and deepest of the
Angus Glens, slices north-westwards into the East Mounth, its side
scalloped by many corries. At its head it divides into two upper
glens, one leading to Bachnagairn, the other to Corrie Fee. Most
of the glen is managed for sporting interests and sheep grazing.
Caenlochan National Nature Reserve extends west, across from the
head of Glen Doll over open plateau and cliff, and has one of the
widest ranges of mountain plant communities and upland bird assemblages
of any site in Britain.
Glen Prosen and Glen Isla to the west present
the visitor with rolling, heather-clad hills, cut with long tributaries
to the meandering rivers below.
Glen Lethnot and Glen Esk to the
east with their patchwork of rowan woods and open moor can on a
clear day give outstanding views of lower Angus across to the coast
and north into Deeside. This rugged landscape of ice-sculpted valley
walls and moraine deposits supports many of the traditional estate
activities found in rural Scotland.
The area contains many Munros (hills over 3,000ft/914m)
some of which will be climbed during the Festival. If your preference
is for something lower, this will also be well catered for. |
The mountains are home to a colourful array of
birds, including red and black grouse, ptarmigan and capercaillie.
Birds of prey can be sighted with golden eagles, sparrow-hawks,
kestrels, buzzards, merlins and peregrine falcons soaring in the
skies above. The Glens are also home to herds of stately red deer
and their smaller relatives the roe deer.
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