Angus beauty spots are helping fuel a visitor boom to forests and woodlands in Tayside.
Popular Glens tracks are leading the way, but good numbers of visitors are also making their way to other forest walks around Angus.
A new survey by Forestry Commission Scotland estimates that around 816,000 visits are made to their forests and woodlands in Tayside each year.
By far the most popular reason for visiting the forests is walking, with 79% of all visitors engaging in this activity.
Just over half of these visits involved walking a dog.
Around 31% of visits to forests in Tay are taken by people who are on holidays or short breaks.
The figures include Balkello (26,700), Glen Doll (21,604), Glen Isla (3,000), Glen Prosen (1,000), Hallyburton (1,000) and Montreathmont (1,000).
Environment and climate change minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “Forestry Commission Scotland is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in the country, with hundreds of popular woodland walks, world-class biking trails and welcoming visitor centres.
“It is very positive news that we are seeing so many people visiting the National Forest Estate and taking the opportunity to enjoy Scotland’s outstanding natural environment.
“The Scottish Government is keen to capitalise on this success by widening out better access to our woodlands and providing a greater range of ways for people to enjoy them.”
The commission has a number of very popular forests and woodlands in the region that draw people to them each year. There have also been a number of improvements to many recreation facilities.
Hamish Murray, communities, recreation and tourism manager with Forestry Commission Scotland, said: “We very much welcome visitors to our forests. They enjoy the peace and quiet, big trees and stunning landscapes.
“We’ve made additional investments in our recreation offering and have upgraded facilities in many areas, including at Craigvinian, Balkello and at Ladybank.
“Most notably, we have just completed a huge upgrade at the visitor centre at Queen’s View and we are confident that visitors are going to really enjoy what’s new there.”
Other findings in the survey include:
* The average age of a visitor is 51, slightly older than the national average of 46;
* About 53% of visitors are men and 47% women;
* Majority of visitors (82%) are Scottish and on a day trip and 4% from overseas;
* The average distance travelled to one of the forests is about 21 miles;
* Average duration of a forest visit is one hour and 49 minutes.