Two castle gems and an elegant historic home to visit in Scotland's heartland

Angus features some of the most dramatic castles in Scotland

Deep in the soft rolling countryside of Angus, the first glance of Glamis Castle is caught.

Push on down the mile-long drive and the elaborate grandeur of this home of the Earls of Strathmore rises up into full view.

A mile-long drive leads to Glamis Castle in Angus, the ancestral seat to the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne and their Lyon predecessors since the 14th Century. PIC: Contributed. | Contributed

“The house, from the height of it, the greatness of its mass, the many towers atop and the spread of its wings, has a very singular and striking appearance like nothing I ever saw,” wrote one 18th-century visitor.

And today, the same could almost be true of this turreted place embossed with much heraldry and history.

Glamis still holds its feel as the bold family home of the Earls of Strathmore and their Lyon ancestors since the 14th century, with the long drive and the Italian Garden nodding to the aristocratic statement of the place. It is also a castle where history has often come knocking at the door of this influential family.

Glamis Castle was the birthplace of the Queen Mother with many nods to her presence - and that of her children - throughout the property and gardens. | Contributed

Mary, Queen of Scots visited in August 1562 after riding north from Falkland on her way to Aberdeen. Initially turned away due to the small matter of her father, James V, pushing for the the execution of former resident Lady Jane Douglas for witchcraft, the doomed monarch was finally allowed in to stay for a night.

In fact, she stayed for two, partied on both and invited residents of the nearby Glamis village to join in the fun. She was a total hit, the story goes, and the room where she slept is just off the Great Hall, so the queen didn’t have far to fall.

Glamis is probably most famous for being the childhood home of the Queen Mother, who was born here on August 4, 1900. Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon retained strong links to the castle throughout her life. Her father went on to become the 14th Earl of Strathmore, while young Elizabeth used to enjoy playing pranks on castle guests, such as throwing ‘burning oil’ - which was in fact icy water - off the castle turrets to meet those walking below.

Inside Glamis, the Royal Apartment is one of the rooms open to the public. There you can see the living quarters where the Queen Mother and George VI spent their time, including their honeymoon.

The telephone in the corner was the first to be installed in a Scottish castle and served as a direct line to Buckingham Palace. On the night that Princess Margaret was born at the castle, a storm raged around Glamis. The only tree to fall that night on the estate fell on the only telegraph that served the solitary phone, with the news of the princesses's birth delayed in reaching London.

The family feel of the place unfolds throughout the castle, with a framed family photo of Princess Margaret and her sister - the future Queen Elizabeth II - and her parents adding a touch of the personal to the place.

The Italian Garden at Glamis Castle. | Contributed

Today, a memorial to Princess Margaret, who spent endless days roaming Glamis with her sister, can be found.

Nearby, the Italian Garden is an exercise in restraint and the joys of symmetry and offers a lovely space to relax, stroll and take stock, just like the ancestors of Glamis must have done over the centuries. The woodland around the castle is stunning, with the mighty trees creating a landscape of the deepest consoling green through which shafts of light meet the forest floor.

A quiet spot in the glorious woodland that surrounds Glamis. | Contributed

Another Angus castle most worth a visit is Edzell Castle, around 30 minutes north of Glamis by car.

Edzell is a prime spot for meeting, eating and exploring and a key centre for those who live and work throughout the Angus Glens, which Edzell is cradled by.

It really is a lovely village and perfect for an ice cream from the Tuck Inn and a walk to the Shakkin Brig suspension bridge, which has been both a source of fun and fear for generations around these parts. Further up the River and you will find the Blue Door walk, which leads right up to the Rocks of Solitude, a mesmerising natural landmark in this deep country, where all the spring elements seem to softly coalesce.

Edzell Castle - a fine trace of the home of a powerful and 'carefree' Angus family. | Stu Smith/Flickr

Edzell Castle was home to the ‘lichtsome’ - or carefree - Lindsay family. Quite unlike Glamis, only the ruined outline of the pile exists, but the setting and the remains do a good job at tracing out the lives of this noble family. More of a country house than a defensive stronghold, the castle was started by David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Lindsay, around 1520, and then elaborated upon by his son, Sir David.

READ MORE: The Jacobite stronghold in a ‘most rebellious’ Angus town

The son added a fragrant garden, a summer house and a bath house, and the ruin, managed by Historic Environment Scotland, evokes a strong sense of past times here. Visitors might even find a peacock to greet them at the gate. Edzell has now reopened for the season, but is only accessible on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday this year.

Another fine property that speaks to Angus’s nobility is the House of Dun near Montrose, a Palladian Adam-built mansion that must have one of the finest views in Scotland. It is easy to envy the twin luxuries of peace and space enjoyed here by the Erskine family, who have lived on this estate since the 14th century.

The current house, which is flanked by a line of gorgeous redwood trees at the front, sits on a mildly elevated point that looks straight across Montrose Basin. There is something in the air here as the country surrounds sit soft against the big Angus skies and the shifting sands of the basin ahead.

House o f Dun near Montrose is a Palladian dream overlooking Montrose Basin and the big, coastal skies of Angus. | Contributed

The property, run by National Trust for Scotland, also includes a collection of artefacts once held by the former folk museum at Glamis.

A very interesting space inside this mansion is the drawing room, where former owner David Erskine, later titled Lord Dun and a Court of Session judge, had elaborately decorated with fine plasterwork, which holds many coded references to this establishment figure’s true Jacobite leanings.

On the walls here, visitors will find many double meanings and symbols hidden in plain sight. The House of Dun, meanwhile, is just plainly stunning.