House of Dun – A William Adam House above Montrose Basin
A few hours.
The route
The House of Dun is William Adam's Georgian house above Montrose Basin, built over some thirteen years from 1730 for the Erskines of Dun.
Costumed guides show you round its rooms, the gardens and the estate woods are yours to wander, and an old stone bridge over the South Esk is just down the road.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a guided tour of the House of Dun ahead; it is the only way into the house.
The day
Dun
A quiet morning west of Montrose, with three stone arches over the river, a laird's house of the 1730s seen room by room, and a light lunch in its old stable courtyard.
About three and a half hoursAbout 1 mile on foot
Bridge of Dun
An attraction
The Bridge of Dun carries a minor road over the River South Esk, just west of Montrose Basin, off the A935 between Montrose and Brechin. It's free to see at any time, from the road. Alexander Stevens built it between 1785 and 1787: three arches of dressed stone, with a half-round refuge on columns above each pier and its pointed cutwater. Storm Babet badly damaged it in October 2023; its damaged arch was rebuilt and the bridge reopened in September 2025. A quarter of an hour is plenty.
5 min by car
House of Dun
An attraction
It's 5 minutes' drive to the House of Dun, whose visitors' car park is north-west of the house. William Adam designed it for David Erskine, the 13th Laird of Dun, loosely on the Château d'Issy near Paris, and it took some thirteen years to finish. It looks south over the west end of Montrose Basin. Guides in costume show you round. Look for Joseph Enzer's plasterwork in the saloon, rising thick from walls and ceiling, and the woolwork and embroidery of Lady Augusta FitzClarence, a daughter of William IV. Down in the kitchen there's a clockwork spit. The courtyard to the west, once the stables and carriage houses, holds part of the Angus Folk Collection, and the walled garden and formal gardens lie east and south of the house, with woodland walks round the estate. Lunch is at Erskine's Café in the courtyard: light lunches, cakes and hot drinks, children's options, and seats inside and out.
If it rains
The house tour and Erskine's Café are under a roof. On a wet morning, look at the Bridge of Dun from the road, keep the gardens to a short turn, and go in for the tour and an early lunch.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Angus.
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