Seeing Arbroath? Begin at Arbroath Abbey
Around Arbroath, the places to visit include 3 castles, 2 museums and an abbey or priory. There are 5 places to visit inside Arbroath’s locality, and 4 more within 5 km of its edge. Here, one place is kept up by Historic Environment Scotland. 2 of the places on the list are within 1 km of the middle of town. The big name further out is Glamis Castle, 26 km from the centre.
What Arbroath is known for
Beyond Arbroath Abbey, there are 2 museums, an attraction and a theme park.
Abbey or prioryArbroath Abbeyin town
Museum · Historic Environment ScotlandSt Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museumin town
MuseumSignal Tower Museumin townAttractionAttractionKing William the Lionin townTheme parkTheme parkWest Links Parkin town
CastleColliston Castle3.6 km outside town, to the northwestEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
How they lie
At the edge of the map sits Ethie Castle, 7.2 km out.
The dashed line is Arbroath’s locality; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · NRS locality 2022
Sorted by kind
The two biggest groups: castles or historic places (4) and museums or galleries (2).
Green: inside Arbroath. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
1 place is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland (St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum).
Each place in turn
First the 5 in town, then the 4 within 5 km of its edge.
7
8The 5 inside Arbroath come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
141 listed buildings and 2 scheduled monuments are on Arbroath’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Arbroath →
Names further out
Best known of the 12 within reach is Glamis Castle, at 26 km.
Historic houseGlamis Castle26 km westHistoric shipHistoric shipRRS Discovery26 km southwest
CathedralBrechin Cathedral19 km north
Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandBroughty Castle21 km southwest
Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandClaypotts Castle21 km southwestCastleCastleGardyne Castle9.6 km northwest
CathedralSt Andrew's Cathedral, Dundee26 km southwest
Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandSt Andrews Castle28 km southwestCastleCastle · Historic Environment ScotlandEdzell Castle28 km northCastleCastleGuthrie Castle12 km northwestCastleCastleMelgund Castle17 km northwest
CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, Dundee26 km southwestPlaces well known beyond Arbroath (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust for Scotland or Historic Environment Scotland property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Questions before you go to Arbroath
What are the main attractions in Arbroath?
The best known inside Arbroath’s locality are Arbroath Abbey, St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum, Signal Tower Museum and King William the Lion. In all, 5 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 4 more within 5 km.
Does Arbroath have a museum?
2 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Arbroath: St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum and Signal Tower Museum.
Is there a National Trust for Scotland or Historic Environment Scotland property near Arbroath?
Yes. In or within 5 km of Arbroath, 1 place is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland (St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum).
What are the best-known days out near Arbroath?
Within 40 km: Glamis Castle (26 km), RRS Discovery (26 km), Brechin Cathedral (19 km), Broughty Castle (21 km).
Where are Arbroath’s historic buildings listed?
Arbroath has 141 listed buildings, 6 of them Category A. They are on its History page, from Historic Environment Scotland’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Arbroath when it is inside the NRS 2022 locality boundary, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the NRS 2022 locality (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (13)
- Arbroath Abbey: Bubobubo2, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Signal Tower Museum: Heligoland, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Colliston Castle: Dominic Dawn Harry and Jacob Paterson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ethie Castle: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kelly Castle: norhafydzah mahfodz, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Glamis Castle: Worldfootage, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brechin Cathedral: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Broughty Castle: TimVickers, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Claypotts Castle: Bubobubo2, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Andrew's Cathedral, Dundee: Bill Nicholls, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Andrews Castle: Tom Parnell, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee: kim traynor, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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