Discover Forfar: Nature, Trails and History

Forfar combines varied trails, wildlife spotting and culture with easily accessible destinations in the surrounding area. If you are planning a trip where nature experiences and history complement each other, the town offers several different reasons to stay. From a holiday apartment or holiday cottage in Forfar, you can plan your days according to your preferred pace of travel: with a walk by the loch, a museum visit, a historic sightseeing trip or a guided farm tour.

Nature experiences at Forfar Loch

The 4-kilometre path around Forfar Loch is suitable for all abilities and forms part of the wider Forfar Path Network. This allows you to add a clearly described circular route to your stay without having to commit to a particular sporting activity. At Forfar Loch Country Park, you can go walking, running, cycling and horse riding. Depending on your interests, you can therefore plan a leisurely circuit, a run, a bike ride or a horseback ride.

The wildlife also makes Forfar Loch Country Park interesting. Kingfishers, otters, foxes and deer are regularly spotted there. In summer, ospreys can also be seen fishing. Anyone who enjoys moving attentively through a landscape rather than simply visiting a viewpoint will find special opportunities for observation here. When planning your day, it is worth considering nature and exercise as a separate focus alongside the cultural attractions.

Trails with history and views

The Forfar Heritage Trail begins in the town centre at the Meffan Museum & Art Gallery and takes approximately two hours. Shorter supplementary routes on the trail around Forfar Loch and up to Balmashanner Hill each take approximately one hour. These different formats make it easier to choose between a longer town-and-culture circuit and shorter excursions, each with its own character.

At Balmashanner Hill, the walk offers views over Forfar and across Strathmore towards the Angus Glens. There is also a stone war memorial tower built in 1921 for those who fell in the First World War. The hill therefore combines a landscape experience with a specific place of historical remembrance. The Meffan Museum & Art Gallery displays the Goosecroft Logboat, a dugout canoe dated to AD 1090. This allows you to learn about the region's history both in the museum and outdoors.

Historic sites and guided experiences

Restenneth Priory, a medieval ruin of an Augustinian priory with older structural elements, lies near Forfar. Visitors can view the ruins on paths and grassed areas and walk around them. The interior of the surviving buildings is not accessible. At Restenneth Priory, choir walls with fine lancet windows have been preserved, giving the site a distinctive architectural detail.

Another option in the surrounding area is Newton Farm Tours. The 1.5-hour guided farm tour gives visitors the opportunity to meet cows, sheep, goats, alpacas and pigs. Tours and experiences at Newton Farm Tours must be booked in advance. If you would like to include this visit in your plans, you should therefore allow for it in good time as a fixed part of your trip.

Forfar as a base for your trip

Forfar is easily accessible from Dundee and Aberdeen via the A90. When looking for accommodation, you can therefore first consider which mix of activities is most important to you: trails and wildlife spotting at Forfar Loch, historic impressions at Balmashanner Hill and Restenneth Priory, or culture at the Meffan Museum & Art Gallery. A holiday apartment in Forfar is particularly worth considering if you would like to divide your days flexibly between these different experiences. Anyone who prefers to cook for themselves and plan their daily schedule independently of set mealtimes can also search for a holiday cottage in Forfar.

If you would like to visit other places in addition to Forfar, here is a compact selection: Longniddry, Jedburgh, Carrbridge, Edinburgh, Kingussie, Hawick and Newtonmore.

For the higher-level travel overview: Scotland.