Undiscovered Scotland

 

Angus is one of the 32 unitary council areas into which Scotland has been divided since 1996. It extends inland from the North Sea coast north of the Firth of Tay and includes the Angus Glens on the south side of the Cairngorm Mountains. For accommodation in Angus and a full list of features, see our Angus & Dundee area pages.

 

Angus ranks as the 10th largest local authority area in terms of physical size and the 19th largest in terms of population, which reflects its largely rural character. The main A90 trunk road curves up through the area, serving much of it as a result: while the A92 serves the settlements along the coast.

The main settlements in Angus are Arbroath, Brechin, Carnoustie, Edzell, Forfar, Kirriemuir and Montrose. Modern Angus is bordered by Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross, and the unitary council area of the City of Dundee is almost wholly contained within it on the north bank of the Firth of Tay.

Historically, Angus was one of the traditional counties into which Scotland was divided prior to 1975. It only became known as Angus, however, following a change of name from Forfarshire in 1928.

Angus remained a county in its own right until reorganisation in 1975 swept all the counties away in favour of 12 regions. The regions formed in 1975 were the upper tier of a two tier local authority system, and the traditional county area of Angus became part of Tayside Region.

Most regions were divided into a number of district council areas, and Tayside had three. As part of the reorganisation Angus became a district council area. It lost the south-west corner of the traditional county, which became a new district council area called the City of Dundee.

Regions and districts disappeared from the scene in a major reorganisation in 1996, being replaced by 32 unitary council areas. Tayside's three district councils, including Angus, each became a unitary council in its own right, taking over the boundaries of the district which had preceded it.