Walking in the Angus Glens. James Carron
often spotted on the fringes of woodland or lurking in undergrowth. Occasionally they will stray onto open ground or flit over roads.
On the high ground mountain hare are a frequent sight while rabbits are endemic, often sharing rough pasture with sheep, cattle and opportunistic carrion crows. Rabbits offer rich pickings for stoats and foxes. Unlike rabbit and brown hare, mountain hare are indigenous to Scotland.
Sheep – one of the main sources of income for Angus farmers – are found on low and high ground while cattle – including the distinctive shaggy Highland cow – tend to occupy fields down in the valleys.
An iconic Highland cow resting by Buckhood Cottage, Glen Prosen
Forests offer a safe haven for the increasingly threatened red squirrel. Thanks to its relative isolation, Glen Doll has a stable population of around 100 and colonies also exist in the other glens where grey squirrels – the biggest threat to the reds – have yet to gain a foothold.
The woodlands of Glen Doll in particular are home to the pine marten which, although rare, has benefited in recent years from measures to conserve its habitat. A cat-sized member of the weasel family, the pine marten thrives in rocky woodland terrain and is most often sighted at dawn or dusk. It is, however, very wary of humans and will disappear in an instant.
The field vole, wood mouse and hedgehog are among smaller mammals that may be seen on lower ground while otter, bank vole and water vole live around rivers, streams and lochs. Healthy populations of otter have been recorded along the length of the River South Esk. Water vole numbers, however, are less stable. Once plentiful, this native species has been decimated by invading American mink, first imported into Britain in the 1920s and farmed for fur. However, conservation work, particularly in Corrie Fee, has seen some recovery in water vole numbers while mink trapping – designed to protect ground-nesting birds and their eggs – is an integral part of land management.
The most elusive creature in the Angus glens is the Scottish wildcat. Using concealed camera traps, the Cairngorms Wildcat Project has confirmed sightings in Glen Clova while reports suggest small populations in the other Angus glens.
The only venomous snake walkers may encounter is the adder. Relatively common on heather moor and around the fringes of woodland, they are most frequently spotted in hot weather sunning themselves on rocks or lying across paths. The adder has a distinctive dark zigzag running down the length of the spine and an inverted ‘V’ shape on the neck. Males are generally white or pale grey with a black zigzag while females are a pale brown colour, with a darker brown zigzag. Adders are not aggressive, but if bitten by one seek medical assistance as soon as possible.
Atlantic salmon and sea trout migrate up the rivers of Angus. The River North Esk and River South Esk are both popular with anglers, while inland lochs and reservoirs are renowned for their brown trout.
Birds
Red grouse are bred for sport throughout the glens and will pop up out of the heather when least expected while another game bird, the pheasant, is most likely to be spotted in fields, woodland, or dodging traffic on the roads. On rocky summits and slopes, ptarmigan are more elusive. In winter they are completely white, while in summer only the wings remain white. The best time to spot them is early spring, before their winter plumage is lost.
Golden eagle, peregrine falcon and raven all breed on crags and may be seen soaring above cliffs and rocky slopes. Corrie Fee, Glen Doll and the valley of the River South Esk below Bachnagairn are particularly good spots for sightings. The buzzard is the most prevalent bird of prey in the glens and may be seen flying over both low and high ground.
At the other end of the spectrum, the white-tailed eagle (also known as the sea eagle) is an occasional visitor thanks to an ongoing reintroduction project at Tentsmuir Forest, Fife, 40km to the south. The osprey, which returns annually to nesting sites in the neighbouring county of Perthshire, has been recorded fishing lochs and reservoirs in Angus.
Coniferous plantations are home to the great spotted woodpecker (more frequently heard rather than seen), plus the common crossbill and the smallest of all European birds, the goldcrest. Woodlands are also good places to spot the willow warbler, cuckoo, jay, jackdaw, siskin, chaffinch and various tits, including the coal tit, great tit and blue tit.
On rough pasture and heathland oystercatcher and curlew are common, while Angus is a breeding stronghold for the ring ouzel, similar in size to a blackbird but with a distinctive white chest ring and longer wings and tail.
Plants and flowers
Scots pine trees in Glen Lee (Walk 26)
While the ancient glens were once heavily wooded, the hand of man has seen intervention both detrimental and beneficial to the natural landscape over the centuries. Our Neolithic ancestors cut much of the original timber down, creating arable fields and grassy pasture in lowland areas while much of the higher ground ended up as open moor. Trees returned in the form of sizeable commercial plantations while in more recent times there has been a concerted effort to both plant and encourage the natural regeneration of native species such as rowan, beech, birch and ash, a step towards redressing the balance. Airy woodlands of Scots pine and larch provide a welcome breather from more densely packed forests of spruce and lodgepole pine.
Large tracts of moor are managed for shooting, resulting in a patchwork of heather and grass. Grazing by sheep, cattle and deer restrict plant diversity here. Tussocks of hare’s-tail cotton grass grow in all but the wettest areas, while cross-leaved heath and crowberry are widespread. Gorse and broom add a splash of yellow during the summer while bracken provides valuable cover for birds and small animals. Rocks and boulders support various lichens, and the iconic Scottish thistle is a common sight.
A foxglove adds colour to Glendoll Forest (Walk 14)
Purple and white foxgloves grow in the valleys, bluebells and yellow primroses carpet many of the native woodlands and meadows of wild flowers are to be found on less intensely grazed slopes.
Slender yet resilient harebells survive the harshest conditions in Corrie Fee (Walk 14)
The region’s rarest plants are to be found on high ground where some of the most ancient species survive in the testing environment. Corrie Fee, above Glen Doll, is noted for its purple coltsfoot and yellow oxytropis and is also home to more common mountain plants: purple saxifrage, yellow mountain saxifrage, roseroot and globeflower. Neighbouring Corrie Shalloch has the largest area of mountain willow scrub in Britain.
Above the corries, on the vast windswept Caenlochan plateau, a remarkably diverse range of habitats exists, incorporating dwarf-shrub and heath, mire, grassland and an array of alpine grasses, lichens and flowers. The area is regarded as one of the best upland botanical sites in the country.
Weather
The Angus glens offer year-round walking, although the best conditions are usually to be found between May and September when the weather is generally drier and temperatures are, on the whole, higher. Although rainfall is typically lower than in the west of Scotland, prolonged wet spells and fleeting heavy showers, even on sunny days, are becoming an increasingly common part of the summer weather pattern.
Despite the relatively compact geographical nature of the Angus glens, the weather can vary across the area and it is often possible to find good conditions in one glen when the weather is less favourable in others. As a result there is plenty of scope for choosing routes that take advantage of this local variation.
It is worth paying particular attention to cloud base. While the higher ground may be shrouded in heavy cloud or blanketed in mist, lower hills may dip below the ceiling, offering alternative days out. Always