Undiscovered Scotland

 

The Angus Glens extend like the fingers of a hand from the fertile plains of Strathmore north-west deep into the heart of the Cairngorms. They are among Scotland's best kept secrets, which is excellent news for anyone wanting to explore an area that is relatively quiet compared with some of the country's hillwalking honeypots. But you shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking that because an area lacks in crowds it necessarily lacks in quality or variety.

There are five main Angus Glens, from west to east Glen Isla, Glen Prosen, Glen Clova, Glen Lethnot and Glen Esk. The walks within the book allow the reader to explore the many different faces of each of them, ranging from walks offering wide views south over Strathmore near the mouths of the glens, to others that take in Munros (individual mountains over 3000ft) at the head of some of the glens.

If you write a walking book about, say, Glen Coe, you can start by reading the vast wealth of material others have produced before setting off to check out those routes that appear best to meet your needs. You will end up knowing the area very well indeed, but you don't necessarily need to start out that way. The Angus Glens are different. There have been books written about (or including) the area in the past, but anyone writing about the glens doesn't have the same amount of background material to fall back on. As a result, only someone with a good knowledge of the area to begin with stands any real chance of producing a book offering others a real insight into what the Angus Glens have to offer.

James Carron has been based in Dundee for most of his life and has been walking the Angus Glens since childhood. This shines through as you explore the walks between the covers, and is one of the things that make this a book well worth recommending to anyone wanting to get to know this corner of Scotland. The book has sections, each with detailed mapping, on 26 circular walks, plus four linear walks along the historic "mounth roads" that connect the glens together or extend north from them across the Cairngorms.