📌 Arbroath, Angus
★★★★
Despite the name, the Arbroath Smokie (smoked haddock) probably actually originated in the small fishing village of Auchmithie, a few miles up the coast. The informal But ‘n’ Ben restaurant still serves the local delicacy along with other locally caught seafood: lunch here seems a fitting culmination to this one-way clifftop walk. The scenery is excellent throughout, with dramatic rock architecture including sea stacks, arches and Gaylet Pot: a massive blowhole in the middle of a field connected to the ocean by a subterranean passageway. A rewarding route on both a sunny day and a wild and windy one (we’ve tried both!).
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start on Ponderlaw Street, 10-min walk east of Arbroath town centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 646412
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.560977,-2.577098
🏁 Finish in Auchmithie village centre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 679442
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.588801,-2.524189
🚆 Arbroath (walk start) | 🚌 Bus to Arbroath (walk start) / Auchmithie (walk finish)
🚗 Car park (walk finish) – with bus connection to other end of route (relatively infrequent – check times in advance)
📝 Key info
▶ 9 km / 6 mi | ▲ 150 m | ⌛ 2.5-3 hr | ⚠️ Linear route
Features: 🏠 Arbroath ★★★ & town sights; 🌊 Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve & coastline; 🌊 Gaylet Pot; 🏠 Auchmithie
⬤ Easy | Clear paths, often surfaced, some steps.
Download file for GPS➡️ Northbound linear walk: start – Victoria Park – Whiting Ness – Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve – Carlingheugh Bay – detour to Gaylet Pot (only when no crops in field) – Auchmithie & harbour – return to village for finish
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Nesting kittiwakes, fulmars, gulls, rock doves, oystercatchers, eider ducks, mallard ducks, a heron, pheasants, skylarks, woodpigeons, small woodland / field birds. Cabbage white butterflies.
Weather: Sunny for most of the walk with high cloud building to the southwest. Temperature in low teens, light breeze.
April 2025
