The Sidlaws are a range of hills of volcanic origin in the counties of Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

 and Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 that extend for 30 miles (45 km) from Kinnoull Hill

Kinnoull Hill

Kinnoull Hill is a hill located in Perth, Scotland.From the hill's 222m south-facing cliff summit, views are afforded of the River Tay, the Friarton Bridge, and a stretch of the Tay Coast railway line. Further to the south, Moncrieffe Hill can be seen....

, near Perth

Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

, northeast to Forfar

Forfar

Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...

. Law is a Lowland Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 word of Old English origin meaning a hill

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

 which rises sharply from the surrounding land. The element 'sid' probably derives from the Scottish Gaelic sidhe, meaning 'fairy' or 'sacred', referring to the prehistoric cairns still visible on various of the hills, and bheanntan, meaning 'peaks'.

Principal peaks within the Sidlaws include Ark Hill

Ark Hill

Ark Hill is a mountainous landform within the Sidlaw Hills in Angus, Scotland. This location has been proposed as a windfarm for generating renewable electrical power. Approximately two kilometres to the north is the village of Eassie noted for the presence of the Eassie Stone; this carved...

 and King's Seat.

Points of interest include Dunsinane Hill

Dunsinane Hill

Dunsinane Hill is near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It is mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth.It has the remains of two early forts. This is believed to be the site of a battle where Malcolm Canmore defeated Macbeth in 1054...

, mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

, and Auchterhouse Hill, which was the site of an ancient hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

. The ruined observatory on Kinpurnie Hill was built by James Stuart-Mackenzie

James Stuart-Mackenzie

James Stuart-Mackenzie was a Scottish politician.Born James Stuart, he was a younger son of James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute, and his wife Lady Anne, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll. Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, was his elder brother...

 who owned the Kinpurnie estate and can be seen for many miles on the Strathmore side of the Sidlaws.

The highest of the Sidlaws is Craigowl Hill

Craigowl Hill

Craigowl Hill is a summit towards the eastern end of the Sidlaw Hills in Angus, Scotland. Northeast of Kirkton of Auchterhouse and approximately eight kilometres north of Dundee, Craigowl Hill represents the highest point in the range.-External links:...

. Adjacent to Craigowl Hill is Gallow Hill, on the side of which is located the Angus transmitting station

Angus transmitting station

The Angus transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated approximately five miles due north of the city of Dundee, Scotland . It includes a guyed steel lattice mast which is 229.5 metres  in height. Mounted at the top are the UHF television antennas,...

, which provides television and radio services to the region.

Nearby historical features to the north include Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public....

 and the Eassie Stone

Eassie Stone

The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone at the village of Eassie, Angus, Scotland. The stone was found in Eassie burn in the late 18th century and now resides in a purpose-built perspex building in the ruined Eassie church.-Location:...

, a carved Pictish cross slab-stone (now situated in a ruined church in the village of Eassie

Eassie

Eassie is a village located along the A94 road in Angus, Scotland. The church in Eassie is dedicated to Saint Fergus, a monk who worked at nearby Glamis...

).

Sidlaw Hills is also the name of a Schottische

Schottische

The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...

 marching tune composed for the fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 by Jim Watson of Blairgowrie

Blairgowrie and Rattray

Blairgowrie and Rattray and Raitear is possibly from an English language cognate of Gaelic ràth, meaning fortress + a Pictish term cognate with Welsh tref, meaning settlement) is a twin burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Amongst locals, the town is colloquially known simply as "Blair"...

 (1868 - 1931)

Beautifully coloured agates, which formed over millions of years in cavities (originally gas bubbles) in the volcanic lava which formed the hills, are occasionally to be found weathered out of the rock in the surrounding fields.