Visit Glen Lethnot, Angus

 

Glen Lethnot is the least tourist-orientated of the Glens. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing! The Glen is easily reached, but its lack of development means that it can perhaps offer a truly authentic experience.

Lethnot today is a sparsely populated but well-managed area, where the farming community is kept busy tending to their sheep and cattle. During the growing season, the fields are abundant with crops. The glen is also home to the Hunthill Shooting Estate.

The people here are friendly and tourists are welcome. But visitors have to remember that this is working land, so all dogs must be kept on the lead. Walkers are also asked to check for hill access before setting out on their walk.

The old road, crossing the hills to Invermark, had two names. The first was 'Priest's Road' because the Episcopalian minister of Lochlee and Lethnot travelled on it from the manse in upper Glen Esk. The other name was the 'Whisky Road' - the joy of bootleggers and the bane of the excise man.

There were a few surviving - though somewhat rusty - 'stills' in the Lethnot area until just fairly recently. However, the making of illegal whisky slowly died away as the authorities clamped down on bootleggers, and by 1790 the majority of stills were ceased - although a small number survived till about 1825-30.