Visit Liff, Angus Places

Welcome to Visit Liff, Angus Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Liff, Angus

  

Liff, Angus Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Liff, Angus

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Liff, Angus history

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Early history

The origin of the name Liff is uncertain. Older writers suggested it might come from the Gaelic word lighe, meaning flood or spate. A modern expert on placenames suggests it comes from Gaelic cliathach, meaning side or slope of a hill.

Later history

The land around Liff was part of the endowment of the Abbey of Scone from the time of Alexander I’s gift until the Reformation. By the 1880s ‘Liff’ was said to cover 8049 acres (12.6 square miles) and contained substantial parts of the City of Dundee.

Twentieth century

In the early twentieth century Liff was a thriving and economically diversified community. At this time there were a farrier and blacksmith, a joiner, wheelwright and undertaker, a cobbler and shoemaker, a stonemason, a publican, at least two shopkeepers, a doctor, medical, nursing and administrative staff at the nearby hospital. The 1940s were years of austerity and difficulty. Mains electricity arrived just after the Second World War.

Liff, Angus culture & places

Fine art

Artist James McIntosh Patrick painted many pictures in and around Liff, including ‘Frosty Day at Liff’, ‘The Elm Tree, Perthshire’, ‘Winter Sunlight, Mains of Gray’, and ‘Berry Picking’

Literature

‘Meg O’Lyff Or The Hags O’ Hurly Hawkin’ is a ballad of 292 lines in the style and metre of Robert Burns’s ‘Tam O’Shanter’ Written by unknown local poet perhaps around 1860.

Liff, Angus landmarks

House of Gray

House of Gray is a large neoclassical mansion built by the 10th Lord Gray between 1714 and 1716. It was one of many houses built or owned by the Gray family over the centuries in the area. The house is largely wind- and water-tight but is on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland.

Royal Dundee Liff Hospital

The Westgreen Asylum was a large mental health facility which moved to new premises in Liff in 1882. The facility, later known as the Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, went into a period of decline and closed in 2001.

Old Manse

Liff’s Manse once lay south of the church. It was in bad repair by the late 1750s when the incoming minister was offered The Dower House for his manse. The ruins were restored in 2012.

Dower House

The Dower House was begun in the 1750s as the intended residence of Lady Gray, who died before it was completed. It was completed as a manse for James Playfair of Benvie who moved in around 1758. The house remained the Manse of Liff Church until 1979 and is now a private dwelling.

‘Spinkie Den’

Spinkie Den is the informal name for the Den of Fowlis east of Liff. The name comes from the profusion of primroses which grew there in spring. The den was a favourite picnic spot for the people of Lochee.

Liff Railway Station

The Dundee and Newtyle Railway opened in 1831. Named Liff, it was 2 miles (3.2 km) by road from present-day Liff. Stationmaster’s house still exists on corner of Myrekirk Road and South Road, Dundee.

You can visit Liff, Angus places with Walkfo Liff, Angus to hear history at Liff, Angus’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Liff, Angus has 22 places to visit in our interactive Liff, Angus map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Liff, Angus, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Liff, Angus places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Liff, Angus & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 22 audio facts unique to Liff, Angus places in an interactive Liff, Angus map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Liff, Angus Places Map
22 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Liff, Angus historic spots	Liff, Angus tourist destinations	Liff, Angus plaques	Liff, Angus geographic features
Walkfo Liff, Angus tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Liff, Angus

  

Best Liff, Angus places to visit

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Liff, Angus has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Liff, Angus’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Liff, Angus’s information audio spots:

Visit Liff, Angus plaques