📌 Waterfalls near Edzell, Angus
★★
The wooded banks of the West Water near Edzell Castle have long been a popular local beauty spot. A footbridge just beyond the picnic benches and car park is known as Pirner’s Brig: named after the pirn in weaving terminology – this being the business of the bridge’s benefactor. The original bridge has now been refurbished after a period of closure, with an informal path leading upstream into quieter surroundings on the other side. After following the top of a shallow gorge, you’ll be able to descend – with care – to a set of unnamed but attractive rapids where the river is squeezed between enormous boulders.
🌍 Location
📌 On the West Water, off minor road 1.5 mi east of Edzell. Main rapids are at:
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 573689
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.809839,-2.700938
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park at 🧭 NO 578689 / 🛰️ 56.810012,-2.692277
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 10-min walk (each way) to the rapids pictured above (⬤ Moderate). Take a path a very short distance upstream to the footbridge over the West Water, and follow the narrow path ahead to a field. A gate needs to be climbed, beyond which faint trods lead right (east), soon returning to the river bank. The rough path becomes overgrown in the immediate vicinity of the rapids / falls, and good views are only possible by leaving the path (steep drops, slippery rocks and fast flowing water – care needed). A more easily reachable viewpoint for a lower stretch of river is down a flight of steps from the car park.
