The longest, most varied and, arguably the loveliest of the Angus Glens, Glen Esk runs from high up in The Mounth down to the edge of Strathmore and The Howe o' the Mearns near Edzell. Its river - the North Esk - finally empties into the North Sea to the north of Montrose.

It was the glen of my childhood, the other Angus Glens being consigned (probably unfairly) to the status of also-rans in competition with Glen Esk with its twisting 16 mile road which takes you from the broad sweep of Strathmore into the heart of the Grampian Mountains.

Part way up the glen is The Retreat, an excellent folk museum improbably housed in a former shooting lodge. It was created by the Glen-folk as a repository of their history, one of their number - Greta Michie - being the prime mover in this invaluable exercise in preserving a vanishing way of life. It was always a favourite family destination when I was a kid and we used to take my Grandfather for afternoon High Tea, which comprised of all manner of home-made scones, teacakes, pancakes, jams and cakes. He loved it there.

In recent years The Retreat has sadly had a difficult time with controversy surrounding its refurbishment and funding. Goodness knows what Greta Michie would have made of it.  
 

A couple of miles further up is the village of Tarfside, (right) where two roughly parallel old drove roads take off over the hills to Deeside, one by the headwaters of the Feugh, the other (the Fir Mounth) by Glen Tanar. 

Many years ago the village had a tearoom, in what resembled a large corrugated iron shed owned by a very stern elderly lady who had pictures of Queen Victoria adorning the walls. She scared the hell out of me!

Beyond Tarfside the motorable road ends at Lochlee Church, severe and Presbyterian and somewhat at odds with other churches in the Glen which has long been a stronghold of Episcopalianism. Here the scenery becomes abruptly wilder and a short walk takes you to the grim keep of Invermark (below), which long held this area for the Lindsays of Edzell  

     

The keep at Invermark occupies a strategic spot guarding routes into Glen Esk from Deeside, through which roving cattle rustlers (or caterans) would venture. Mind you the traffic wasn't always one way and the Glen folk would often "return the favour" so to speak.

Much of the stone and roof materials from the keep were used to build Lochlee church in the 19th century and the building is now unsafe to enter, with a great iron "yett" across the most accessible void in the wall.

This is the point at which Glen Esk bifurcates and ahead, to the west lies Loch Lee and Glen Lee. To the north runs Glen Mark and both are worth exploring with the former providing a number of through routes to Glen Clova and Glen Muick while the latter is often used as an approach route to the most easterly of the "Munros" - Mount Keen.    

Loch Lee is the source of much of the drinking water supplied to towns in north east Angus and the Mearns and its far end is dominated by the Shank of Inchgrundle (the route over the hills to Clova) and Carlochy (a great corrie which held a small glacier during the most recent period of the Ice Age). Beyond Carlochy the glen splits again with one tributary - the Water of Unich - splashing in from the hills to the west. The Unich is worth following for its spectacular falls (below) some way further on. 

The route from Invermark up Glen Mark passes a Victorian curio in the shape of the "Queens Well", a granite imperial crown which sits on top of a natural spring bubbling out of the ground and marks the spot where Queen Victoria and her entourage stopped for a picnic on one of their jaunts over the hills from Balmoral in September 1861. They were met at Invermark by "a sort of double dog-cart which could carry eight but was very narrow inside," as the Queen described in her journal. They were transported down Glen Esk to Fettercairn where they spent the night before returning to Deeside the following day over the Cairn o' Mount.

The route up from Glen Mark onto the high plateau upon which sits Mount Keen, can only be described as a bit of a trudge and you are only likely to meet Munro-baggers en-route, however on a fine day the views across the high plateau towards Lochnagar and the Cairngorms is a fine one.  

To see a map of this area click here.