Angus (Scottish Gaelic: Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals company GSK has a significant presence in Montrose in the north of the county.

Contents 1 History 2 Parliamentary representation 3 Geography 4 Towns and villages 4.1 Towns 4.2 Villages 5 Places of interest 6 Council political composition 7 Sister areas 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

History []

Angus was historically a county (known officially as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1928, when it reverted to its ancient name) until 1975 when it became a district of the Tayside Region. In 1996, two-tier local government was abolished and Angus was established as one of the replacement single-tier Council Areas. The former county had borders with Kincardineshire to the north-east, Aberdeenshire to the north and Perthshire to the west. Southwards, it faced Fife across the Firth of Tay. The boundaries of the present council area are exactly the same as those of the old county minus the City of Dundee. Angus is known as the birthplace of Scotland. The signing of the Declaration of Arbroath at Arbroath Abbey in 1320 marked Scotland's establishment as an independent nation. It is an area of rich history from Pictish times onwards. Notable historic sites in addition to Arbroath Abbey include the world famous Glamis Castle, Arbroath Signal Tower museum and the Bell Rock Light House.

Parliamentary representation []

Areas similar to that of the council area are covered by the Angus Westminster constituency for the UK Parliament and the area is also represented at the Scottish Parliament by both the Angus and North Tayside Holyrood constituencies.

Geography []

Angus can be split into three geographic areas. To the north and west, the topography is mountainous; this is the area of the five Angus Glens, is sparsely populated and the main industry is hill-farming. To the south and east the topography consists of rolling hills bordering the sea. This area is well populated, with the larger towns and the city of Dundee on the coast. In between lies Strathmore, a derivation of the Gaelic for the Great Valley, which is a fertile agricultural area noted for the growing of potatoes, soft fruit and the raising of Angus cattle. Montrose in the north east of the county is notable for its tidal basin.

Towns and villages []

Towns []

Villages []

Places of interest []

• Aberlemno Sculptured Stones (Pictish symbols)
• Angus Folk Museum, Glamis
• Arbroath Abbey, place of signing of the Declaration of Arbroath^[1]
• Barry Mill
• Brechin Cathedral
• Brechin Castle
• Brechin Round Tower
• Caledonian Railway (Brechin)
• Cairngorms National Park
• Corrie Fee, National Nature Reserve
• Eassie Stone^[2]
• Edzell Castle
• Glamis Castle^[3]
• Glen Esk Folk Museum
• House of Dun
• Loch of Kinnordy Nature Reserve
• Meffan Institute, museum and art gallery in Forfar
• Monboddo House
• Montrose Basin Nature Reserve
• Montrose Museum

Council political composition []

	Party	Councillors
	Scottish National Party	14
	Independent	9
	Conservative	4
	Liberal Democrat	1
	Labour	1

Sister areas []

• – Yantai, Shandong, China.^[4]

See also []

• Earl of Angus
• List of pre-1975 counties of Scotland

References []

External links []

• Angus Council
• Angus at the Open Directory Project
• Website showcasing the best of Angus
• Dundee and Angus information portal
• Angus walks