Local Area - Arbroath

Arbroath has special significance in Scotland’s history with the signing of The Declaration of Arbroath on 6th April 1320. The document was signed in Arbroath Abbey and witnessed by Robert the Bruce.

The town which can be traced to a settlement in the iron age has developed through a variety of industries including weaving engineering and fishing. By the 1900’s Arbroath was one of the biggest fishing ports in Scotland.The famous Arbroath Smokie originally came from the small fishing village of Auchmithie, 3 miles north-east of Arbroath. Local legend has it that a store caught fire one night, destroying barrels of haddock preserved in salt. The following morning, the people of Auchmithie came to clean up the ruin and found some of the barrels had caught fire, cooking the haddock inside. Further inspections revealed the haddock was edible and quite tasty.