Location 1: PawsnRun or Drumgley Dog Park

Dog parks are a fantastic choice of venue for your four-legged friends, providing a secure area for them to enjoy agility and enrichment activities, and just let off some steam!

There are two awesome dog parks around the Forfar area to choose from.

Paws n Run provides a fully fenced secure exercise field overlooking the stunning Angus hills. The field offers Arbour seating, fresh drinking water from the dog house, fresh cool running water from the hose, a splash pool for those hot summer days, a sand pit to dig and have fun in, apparatus for your dogs to climb and jump, a tunnel, tyres and lots and lots of safe space to run.

• Location: Newton of Kirkbuddo, Forfar, DD8 2NF
• Opening times: Booking required – see the website
• Entry: From £6.50 for 30 minutes

Drumgley Dog Park has over 2 acres of land, with 6ft secure fencing available for exclusive use. Various agility and enrichment activities are available for your four-legged friends, and a shed is onsite for shelter, including seating.

• Location: Old Railway Line, Forfar, DD8 1PW
• Opening times: Booking required – see the website
• Entry: From £6.50 for 30 minutes

Location 2: Lunch at Dunnichen Stone

Dunnichen Stone, located on the outskirts of Forfar, is where friends gather and tails wag. Whether you’re looking for a spot to socialise with fellow dog lovers, or just a quiet corner to relax with your pooch, this dog-friendly pub and restaurant is the perfect destination.

With a varied selection of pub classics and delicious dishes, including midweek specials on pizza, burgers and curries, this is a great choice for lunch.

• ​​Location: 2 Berrymoss Lane, Forfar, DD8 1GY
• Opening times: Food served daily from 12 noon to 8pm
• Accessibility: Level entry, disabled toilet

Location 3: Meffan Museum

After lunch, head to the Meffan Museum and Art Gallery on West High Street, where you will learn more about the town, including the history of the Forfar bridie and the story of the Forfar witches. You can also discover the mysterious Picts, thanks to the museum’s collection of enigmatic sculptured stones.

Enjoy a stroll down the museum’s recreation of an old, narrow cobbled street called The Vennel. Peer inside several traditional shops, including Peter Reid’s sweet shop, a clock maker’s workshop, a baker’s shop with bread and bridies on display, and a shoemaker’s where you can watch shoes being made and mended.

There is also a diverse range of impressive artwork on display in the gallery from local, national and internationally-renowned artists.

Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in the museum.

• Location: 20 West High Street, Forfar DD8 1BB
• Opening times:
  • 1 April to 31 October: Wednesday to Monday, 10.30am to 4pm (closed Tuesday)
  • 1 November to 31 March: Friday to Monday, 10.30am to 4pm
• Entry: Free
• Accessibility: Full disabled access with lift to upper galleries

Location 4: Forfar Loch

Forfar Loch sits within Forfar Country Park and offers fantastic dog walking opportunities in a relaxed, scenic setting. There is a beautiful walk around the loch that takes around an hour.

Keep your eyes open for kingfishers, otters, beavers, foxes, roe deer, as well as the osprey that plunge into the loch, helping themselves to fish. You can take part in nature events run by the Countryside Rangers to learn more about the fascinating flora and fauna here.

Look towards the middle of the loch, and you can see a partly submerged glacial ridge called St Margaret’s Inch. This ridge was excavated in 1781, revealing evidence of a Crannog (a lake-dwelling). Finds from the excavation included silver ornaments, boar tusks, wolf teeth and deer antlers. Later digs unearthed 13th-century chess pieces.

• ​​Location: Forfar Loch Country Park, Craig o’ Loch Road, Forfar, DD8 1BT
• Opening times: Daily
• Entry: Free
• Accessibility: Some uneven terrain but mostly flat

Location 5: Dinner at The Stag

The Stag, centrally located in Forfar, offers an excellent and regularly updated international menu including traditional Scottish favourites. Burger night is on Tuesday, Steak Night takes place on Thursdays, and the ever popular roasts are available on Sundays.

Dogs are very welcome in the bar area where meals are also served. Water bowls are available.

• ​​Location: Castle Street, Forfar, DD8 3HX
• Opening times: Daily for lunch and dinner
• Accessibility: Level entry, disabled toilet

Location 1: Pathhead Farm Dog Park

Pathhead Farm Dog Park is a central secure dog park with 6ft fences, onsite café and amenities, set in a picturesque yard with views over Kirriemuir and the surrounding Angus countryside.

Allow your dogs to run free, in the security of having the park to yourself.  There are giant tyres, a tunnel, a sandpit, and for the humans there is a picnic bench so you can have a seat, take in the views and have somewhere to pop your drinks and snacks. There is also a shelter, with dog friendly seating provided.

• Location: Forfar Road, Kirriemuir, DD8 5BY
• Opening times: Booking required – see the website
• Entry: From £6.50 for 30 minutes

Location 2: Lunch at The Garden Cafe at Pathhead Farm

The Garden Cafe at Pathhead offers breakfast, lunches, teas, coffees and home baking as well as a farm shop.

The café is open 7 days a week and is family and dog friendly.

Surrounded by a working equestrian centre, there is always something going on and things to see whilst visiting.

• Location: Pathhead Equestrian Centre, Forfar Road, Kirriemuir, DD8 5BY
• Opening times: Food served daily from 10am to 3.30pm
• Accessibility: Accessible toilet

Location 3: Kirriemuir Den

Kirrie Den, or ‘The Den’ (as it’s known locally), is a public park close to the centre of the town. It was opened in 1867 and extended later in the 19th century. The main gate is located on Tannage Brae where there is a public car park opposite.

Kirrie Den sits in a small valley with the Gairie Burn running through it and includes many pleasant walks that your dog will love. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the waterfall at the northwest end of The Den.

The burn can be quite spectacular when it’s in spate and is best viewed from the High Bridge near Lochmill.

• Location: Tannage Brae, Kirriemuir, DD8 4ES
• Opening times: Open at all times
• Entry: Free
• Accessibility: Not all routes around the park are suitable for disabled users or families with pushchairs

Location 4: Dinner at Airlie Arms Hotel

The Airlie Arms Hotel is a traditional, family-run hotel in the heart of Kirriemuir that offers a relaxed, dog-friendly and convenient place for dinner.

Enjoy a range of freshly prepared food from the bar menu, including delicious starters like haggis bites, black pudding or salt and pepper squid, and main courses like Arbroath haddock, scampi, or homemade steak pie.

The menu also includes a selection of burgers, pizza and pasta dishes, as well as a number of options for children.

Dogs are welcome in the bar area at the hotel. They are also welcome in bedrooms if you are staying overnight (subject to an additional £10 cleaning fee).

• Location: 4 St Malcolm’s Wynd, Kirriemuir, DD8 4HB
• Opening times: Food served daily from 11am to 8:30pm
• Accessibility: Disabled access

Location 1: Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre

Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre sits on the site of Britain’s first operational military airfield established by the Royal Flying Corps in 1913.

Your dogs will be made very welcome here; they are allowed throughout the site and inside the various buildings. A water bowl is available outside the reception area too.

The centre’s unique collection of contemporary photographs, artefacts, memorabilia, and planes will take you on a journey back in time and demonstrate the human side of the Air Station’s past. The Heritage Centre ensures future generations will remember the service of the men and women who served at Montrose Air Station. During your visit, you’ll hear some unforgettable stories of their lives and those who lived in the area.

The centre offers some unique and memorable experiences. Step inside a 1940’s house and a full-size Anderson shelter. Marvel at the full-size replica of the B.E.2a aircraft flown by No.2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps – the first squadron to land in France at the start of World War One. You can also see full-size replicas of a Sopwith Camel and an MkVb Spitfire. The Hawker Hunter, Meteor, and Vampire jets will impress too.

The centre ​​is an independent and fully accredited museum run entirely by volunteers. They recently received The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award for volunteer groups in the UK.

• Location: Waldron Road, Montrose, DD10 9BD
• Opening times:
  • Friday – 10am to 4pm
  • Saturday – 10am to 4pm
  • Sunday – 12 noon to 4pm
• Entry fee:
  • Adults £8
  • Concessions £7
  • Children under 16 free
• Accessibility: Partially suitable for visitors with limited mobility. Accessible toilets.

Location 2: Lunch at Chic Rustic Bistro & Gift Emporium

Chic Rustic Bistro & Gift Emporium is a small bistro and artisan shop offering a selection of breakfast rolls, toast, soup and sandwiches, paninis, toasties, baked potatoes, cheesecakes, cakes and tray bakes, including gluten free options. Takeaway food and drinks are available.

The friendly gift emporium offers a variety of artisan gifts including jewellery, tablet, local honey, local eggs and bespoke furniture.

With a welcoming atmosphere and comfy furniture, this is a great spot for lunch with your dog.

• Location: Tayock Park, Brechin Road, Montrose, DD10 9LE
• Opening times:
  • Monday to Saturday: 9am to 5pm
  • Sunday: 12 noon to 5pm
• Accessibility: Accessible toilets

Location 3: Montrose Museum

Montrose Museum tells the story of Montrose and its people, from the earliest archaeological finds to the Marquis of Montrose and the Jacobite uprisings, the harbour and maritime trade.

The museum was designed to look like a true temple of learning, with Ionic columns on either side of the doorway and MUSEUM written above the lintel, in elegant gold relief. The museum was one of the first purpose-built museums in Scotland, opened in 1842, and houses its series of displays in the neo-classical building’s spacious atrium, mezzanine and galleries.

The art gallery within Montrose Museum hosts changing exhibitions from the community and from Angus Council’s collections of paintings and sculptures.

Well behaved dogs on lead are welcome in the museum.

• Location: Panmure Place, Montrose, DD10 8HE
• Opening times:
  • 1 April to 31 October: Wednesday to Monday, 10.30am to 4pm (closed Tuesdays)
  • 1 November to 31 March: Friday to Monday, 10.30am to 4pm
• Entry: Free
• Accessibility: Level entry access via ramp. Accessible toilet. Lift to upper floor mezzanine. The Natural History Gallery is only accessible via a staircase.

Location 4: Montrose Beach

Montrose Beach sits within Montrose Bay which stretches for three miles from Montrose to the North Esk River, with impressive views south to Scurdie Ness Lighthouse.

This inviting and spacious golden beach is the perfect location for a memorable morning walk with your dog. The beach is easily accessible from the town centre on foot.

Enjoy the circular walk that heads along the length of this vast beach before returning via an inland route. Starting at the car park near the play area, the walk follows the beach northwards for over 4km until it reaches the River North Esk estuary with St Cyrus beach and National Nature Reserve sitting to the North.

The walk then takes you inland alongside the banks of the River North Esk, past a traditional fishing bothy and houses, through impressive beech woodland, and underneath the magnificent North Water viaduct.

• Location: Traill Drive, Montrose, DD10 8SW

Location 5: Dinner at George Hotel

After an enjoyable day of activity, it’s time for a well-earned dinner at The George Hotel in Montrose. Located close to the town centre, The George Hotel is a dog-friendly, family-run hotel that has built a reputation over the last 25 years for offering generous portions of excellent food at reasonable prices.

The George Hotel’s restaurant and lounge bar serve a large selection of freshly-prepared dishes to suit all tastes and appetites. The dishes use locally-sourced produce when possible. Dinner options include tasty fish dishes like the grilled Scottish salmon, rice and pasta dishes, chicken dishes, burgers, and vegetarian options like the homemade vegetable lasagne and Quorn salt and vinegar fishless fillet.

The hotel has an extensive range of drinks to accompany your meal, including soft drinks, beers, a cask ale, a fine selection of local whiskies, and gin.

You and your four-legged friend are sure to enjoy a warm welcome and an enjoyable time here, whether you’re just staying for dinner or staying overnight.

• Location: 22 George Street, Montrose, DD10 8EW
• Dinner service:
  • Monday to Saturday: 10am to 11pm
  • Sunday: 12pm to 11pm
• Accessibility: The restaurant is on the second floor and is not wheelchair accessible