Discover Forfar

Forfar offers a range of ways to enjoy nature, get active and explore history. When looking for hotels in Forfar, it may help to first consider which outings you want to shape your stay: a path by the loch, a longer Heritage Trail, historic sites or a guided farm tour.

Forfar Loch: Trails and Wildlife Watching

The 4-kilometre path around Forfar Loch is suitable for all abilities and forms part of the wider Forfar Path Network. Forfar Loch Country Park also offers opportunities for walking, running, cycling and horse riding. You can choose between a circular route of a set length and other activities in the park. Kingfishers, otters, foxes and deer are regularly spotted there. In summer, ospreys can also be seen fishing. Sightings are not guaranteed; osprey watching is specifically a summer activity.

Heritage Trail and Views from Balmashanner Hill

The Forfar Heritage Trail starts in the town centre at Meffan Museum & Art Gallery and takes about two hours. Shorter supplementary routes on the trail go around Forfar Loch and up to Balmashanner Hill; each takes about an hour. This makes the Heritage Trail the longer option, while each individual supplementary route is about an hour shorter. The walk up Balmashanner Hill offers views across Forfar and over Strathmore towards the Angus Glens; visibility depends on the weather. There is also a stone war memorial tower on the hill, built in 1921 to commemorate those who fell in the First World War.

Museum and Medieval Heritage

Meffan Museum & Art Gallery displays the Goosecroft Logboat, a dugout canoe dated to AD 1090. The museum offers a different historical focus from the ruins around Forfar. Nearby is Restenneth Priory, a medieval Augustinian priory ruin with older architectural elements. The site is characterised by surviving choir walls with fine lancet windows. You can view the ruins from the paths and lawns and walk around them; the interiors of the surviving buildings are not accessible. Check access conditions before your visit.

Farm Tour and Getting There

In the area around Forfar, Newton Farm Tours offers a 1.5-hour guided farm tour. Visitors meet cows, sheep, goats, alpacas and pigs. Advance booking is required for tours and experiences at Newton Farm Tours; check the details before your trip. A visit with the animals, of a set duration, adds another option to the choice of trails and historic sites. Forfar is easily reached from Dundee and Aberdeen via the A90. Depending on whether you focus on the circular route, the shorter trail extensions, history or the farm tour, the timing and practical details of planning your outings will vary.

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