Monikie and Crombie Country Parks, Angus, near Dundee, Eastern Scotland

Crombie Country Park features and walking trails

Monikie Country Park features and walking trails

The two country parks of Monikie and Crombie are situated in rolling countryside around 5 miles (8km) north of the coast. Each one has as its centrepiece a man-made loch, part of the public water resource of this part of eastern Scotland, with walking trails along the banks and other easy routes to choose from.

The scenic surroundings are managed as country parks by Angus Council, which provides countryside ranger services and continues to improve the facilities for the public and the quality of the natural environment. There is a small charge for parking in the spring and summer months (currently £1.50 per car - 2006).

Each park has trails around the lochs and through woodland, offering easy walks for everyone in attractive natural surroundings.

At Crombie, in particular, there are large and varied areas of woodland, with recently-planted areas near the car park providing rich habitats for birds, insects and small mammals. There are bird hides open to the public overlooking the loch and a section of woodland on the other side. There is also a souterrain - a prehistoric burial mound. And an additional feature is the quality of the roadways and tracks, which have been improved to a standard suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

The woodland at Monikie is restricted mainly to the vicinity of the Ranger Centre near the car park and adventure playground. However, even this small area has a delightful short circular walk, which can be continued with the longer hiking route around the perimeter of the lochs. There are actually three lochs here - the two larger ones divided by a strip of land which provides a short-cut back to the visitor facilities. A third shallow loch lies at a lower level, close to the access road on the west side, with a roadway separating it from the high bank which holds the larger lochs. This bank is fringed by tall trees on the south side, framing the view down to Newbigging, Laws Hill, and the coastline. On the east side the bank is open to the wind, but the grassy surface is firm for walkers and runners alike. See the panoramic views below.

There are watersports facilities as well at Monikie, and an angling club, so there's usually some activity to be seen on the water. Monikie also has a large flat grassland area close to the car park, and this is popular with families for picnics and games in the summer. Both parks have barbecue facilities, and marquees are available in case the weather turns for the worse.

We have made plenty of use of both parks - for walks as a family, for long pre-marathon training runs from Broughty Ferry, for shorter training runs, and for running club barbecues. There was a mixture of games for the kids, a fun run around the loch, and plenty of conversation and good company.

For quite a time Crombie's loch was drained for maintenance work, and periodically any of the lochs may be much lower than usual. At the time of writing, they are all filled up and providing a scenic backcloth for enjoyable outings to the countryside.

Contributed by: Andrew Llanwarne

For more information on the history and the facilities for visitors:

Link to Angus Ahead page on Monikie Country Park>

Link to Angus Ahead page on Crombie Country Park>

< Back to Scotland page for links to other stories
< Back to Angus page with links to other stories

Gallery

View a gallery of further images for this story.

Comments

Join Walking Stories for free to comment on this story. Have an account already? Log in to comment.