Scotland's Tay Country

Tay Country offers miles of stunning coastline to explore. The Fife Coastal Path is Scotland’s longest continuous coastal path and one of Scotland’s Great Trails. Tour the 117 miles between Kincardine and Newburgh, stopping for photo ops among lobster creels and pastel-coloured fishing villages. There’s sea life in abundance visible from the shore or take a pleasure cruise from Anstruther to the Isle of May and feast your eyes on flocks of puffins and diving gannets.

The East Neuk of Fife is also known for its fabulous seafood — visit the seafood shacks in Crail and let the fishermen recommend their catch of the day. Stop in at Anstruther’s famous fish bars for haddock and chips best enjoyed al fresco, sitting on the harbour wall as the sun sets. 

The Angus Coastal Route takes in a string of seaside resorts starting from Dundee – plenty of opportunities to breathe in that salty sea air! Don’t miss the rolling surf and golden dunes ofLunan Bay just three miles south of Montrose. You’ll often get the place entirely to yourself, leaving you free to wander alone on swathes of empty sand.

Scotland’s longest river begins as a tiny spring on Ben Lui in the southern Highlands, gathering momentum from Loch Tay as it flows east through majestic Perthshire, finally spilling into the Firth of Tay, just south of Dundee. By the time those spring droplets make it to the North Sea they have travelled 190km from their source.

The Tay Estuary at Dundee are home to bottlenose dolphins from May until September, so why not take a boat trip to spot dolphins and seals, or admire local lighthouses and the impressive new V&A Dundee from the water? Or imagine starting your sea kayaking journey with the 15th Century Broughty Ferry castle in your sights (the name Broughty comes from the Gaelic Bruach Tatha, which means the bank of the Tay) or sticking closer to civilisation and wake-boarding at the docks.

Tay Country is carved by water; for kayakers, white water rafters, canyoners or fans of river bugging, there’s nowhere like it. Especially afterwards, when you’re dry, with a well-deserved dram in your hand.

Mountaineer and politician, Sir Hugh Munro (1856–1919) never quite managed to climb all the mountains he catalogued as over 3000 feet high. Today, many keen climbers make it their mission to bag all 282 of them, a bucket-list hobby that can be dipped in and out of over a lifetime.

Tay Country offers 38 Munros to explore, from splendid Schiehallion to Driesh above Glen Doll, but for a gentler introduction to hillwalking the Angus Glens contain a group of peaceful valleys, ideal for cycles and country rambles. Or consider devoting some time to the historic Cateran Trail, straddling the border between Perthshire and Angus that takes its name from cattle thieves who preyed on good hearted locals and their stock until the 17th century.

We won’t judge you though if you decide to stay indoors at one of our well-stocked whisky bars. Sometimes mountains are best viewed from the ground level, by the light of a roaring fire!

We’d be avoiding the elephant in the room if we didn’t talk about Scotland’s famously fickle weather. After all, this is a part of the world where you may see four seasons in one day. But that’s all part of the charm; moody vistas become soaked with atmosphere (and look great in a black and white photo on Instagram, fyi) when the rain clouds roll in, only for the skies to clear ten minutes later.

We’ve even got a word for that feeling when it’s time to head indoors, draw a blanket around your shoulders and sip a dram next to a roaring log fire; còsagach, a Scottish Gaelic word, is a bit like our version of hygge, and means “snug, sheltered or cosy”.

Pack your sunglasses next to your knitwear though; we know how to do bright sunshine and big blue skies up here too. Scotland’s only south facing city, Dundee is proud to be the country’s sunniest city. Tay Country’s full of picturesque spots for taking advantage of the long summer nights and late sunsets.

Dundee Contemporary Arts, the former brick factory that now houses art galleries, print studio, shop, two cinemas and a buzzy bar and restaurant is the ideal spot to set yourself up for the day with a pancake stack or wind down with a craft beer or a cocktail mixed with Tay Country small batch gin. For gifts for your friends and family (and, let's face it, yourself... you are on your holidays!), don't miss the design focused shop, full of cool bits and pieces and limited edition prints from the workshop.

Team a trip to DCA with a visit to Hospitalfield, a hidden gem overlooking the North Sea in Angus. It’s a beautiful turreted mansion-house that was once home to Elizabeth Fraser and her artist and collector husband Patrick Allan-Fraser, where visitors can meander around the extraordinary Arts and Craft interiors or explore the tranquil grounds on weekly Architecture and Garden tours.

The creative scene is so prevalent in Tay Country that art takes over picturesque Pittenweem every August, a living exhibition that has grown to include 100 or more artists and makers who exhibit in houses, studios, galleries and public spaces throughout the village.

Live out your period drama fantasies in some of Tay Country’s magnificent historic buildings, including Falkland Palace, the country residence of Mary Queen of Scots. Wander around royal apartments and the Old Library, imagining the sound of frilly skirts that once swooshed through the ornate interiors decorated with tapestry, carved furniture and painted ceilings.

If this part of the world looks strangely familiar, that might just be because Falkland was used as a location for one of Outlander’s first scenes, made up to look like 1940s Inverness. If you’d like to follow the Outlander trail a little further, Culross and the privately owned Balgonie Castle were also used as locations for the TV show.

Learn about out why ships, trains and trams were so vital to Tayside at the fascinating Dundee Museum of Transport, and don’t miss a visit to RRS Discovery. Step onto the very vessel that took Scott and Shackleton on their first expedition to Antarctica and find yourself at the heart of a classic adventure story, one that celebrates the heroism and grit of truly remarkable men. 

Innerpeffray Library is Scotland’s first public lending library dating back to 1680. You’ll find it on the banks of the River Earn near Crieff. Perhaps the Library’s most valuable book is the original ‘Borrowers Registrar’, a handwritten record of the people who came to choose a book and take it home to read all those years ago.

On the road between St Andrews and Anstruther remember to keep an eye out for an innocent looking Scottish farmhouse, it happens to be the hiding place of Scotland’s Secret Bunker. Explore the underground tunnels and bunker created to survive a nuclear war, kept a secret for over 40 years. The beautiful village of Comrie in Perthshire (worth a visit in itself) is another unlikely military spot where you’ll find Cultybraggan Camp, the UK’s final remaining high security Prisoner of War Camp from the Second World War.

One of the most important Pictish collections in the area can be found at the St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum in Angus. Access to this hidden treasure can be arranged by the staff at Arbroath Abbey, where you’ll be able to enjoy the 30 ancient stones elaborately decorated by the Picts with carvings of imps, saints and fantastic beasts.

Learn more about the UK’s only UNESCO City of Design by exploring it on foot, it is Scotland’s sunniest city after all! (Don’t let the Aberdonians tell you different). There are more than 120 artworks to discover, including bronze comic book characters Desperate Dan, Minnie the Minx and Oor Wullie sitting on his bucket outside TheMcManus Art Gallery and Museum. Follow the Open/Close street art trail which snakes its way around colourful doorways, painted by local artists in unexpected nooks and crannies around the city.

Discovery Walk and Dundee Women’s Trail commemorate artists, trades unionists, social reformers, scientists and suffragettes whose lives have helped shape the city. Dundee was once known as She-town, a place where women were so integral to the jute industry that they received the pay packets and the men stayed at home.

Squeeze in a cardio workout with a guided running tour, stopping by the Oor Wullie statue, Tay Bridges and Botanic Gardens for some sweaty photo ops along the way.

For more macabre thrills, you can peer into Dundee’s murky past on a day or night time walking tour, delving into the city’s secrets of body snatching, riots and rebellion.

The contemporary food and drink scene in Tay Country is thriving, from cultured cafes that double up as art galleries to adapted workshop spaces and Michelin-recommended fine dining restaurants. Blessed with a fabulous natural larder our talented chefs have no shortage of locally grown produce to choose from, sourcing entire menus from the region’s coastline and countryside. Be sure to book ahead for a table at our legendary ‘foodie’ restaurants, many in stunning locations with views to die for.

Our bars and cocktail bars also champion the field to fork revolution, stocking locally produced vodkas, gins and craft lagers, each with their own story. Ask at the bar for their local recommendations and how best to serve. 

And while our city centres offer every international cuisine, from Japanese to tapas and dim sum, don’t miss out on the charms of the village inns and family owned restaurants dotted around the area. You’ll be rewarded with comforting classics such as the delicious Smokie Pancake made with Arbroath Smokies, home baking and high-end fish and chips.

Like Champagne and Gorgonzola, a Smokie can only call itself a Smokie if it comes from Arbroath. Named one of the Top 50 UK Foods, this divine delicacy is a haddock that’s been salted then hung over a whisky barrel filled with burning beech and oak wood. The results are delicious and can be sampled either in one of Arbroath’s pubs and smokehouses dotted around the harbour, or by picking up a pack of Smokies at one of the many farmer’s markets.

About half an hour along the road, you’ll find a Forfar Bridie. For those not yet in the know, it’s a special Scottish meat and onion pasty that’s been produced in the area since 1833. Go straight to the source and pick one up in a bakery on Forfar’s High Street.  

Get to know another tasty local delicacy from Tay Country, with a pot of tea and a slice of the world-famous Dundee Cake. Besides being famous for its “jute, jam and journalism”, Dundee is also proud of creating this classic fruitcake recipe made with sultanas, orange peel and almonds. You’re in for a treat - and a slice of something a bit lighter and crumblier than a Christmas cake.

Do you dream of escaping to the countryside and switching off your gadgets? Run into the open arms of Tay Country’s rural retreats, where country manners and home cooking will be a balm for the soul. You’ll find everything from quirky eco-pods to family run working farms, treehouses to more refined rural destinations. It’s up to you what you do when you get there. Put your feet up and read that book you’ve been trying to finish, offer to help out with the animals, take a cookery masterclass and learn to make the most of our outstanding Scottish ingredients. Or get some fishing in, there are guides aplenty and everyone’s got an opinion about the best fly to tie or bait to use.

And after a hard day’s work, message precisely no one to tell them about it. That can wait until you switch the wi-fi back on!