Birkhill and neighbouring Muirhead are two small villages in 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...

, just to the west of Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, 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...

.

The main attractions

The main attractions of Birkhill include:

• a branch of the Co-op
  Co-op UK
  The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 3 million individual members. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844....
  
  , formerly called Alldays
• a small 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...
  
   known to locals as The Roundie
• Birkhill Primary School, built in 1993 and later extended (the extension officially opened by Andrew Welsh MSP
  Andrew Welsh (politician)
  Andrew Paton Welsh is a Scottish politician. He was educated at Govan High School and Glasgow University.Andrew Welsh was the Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for the House of Commons constituencies of South Angus from 1974 to 1979, East Angus from 1987 to 1997 and Angus from 1997 to...
  
   in 2002). Most students go to Monifieth High School
  Monifieth High School
  Monifieth High School, a comprehensive state high school in Monifieth, Angus, Scotland, was founded in 1976. Its current headmaster is Richard Coton. The school enrolls approximately 1100 pupils from a catchment area including Monifieth, parts of Barnhill, Birkhill and other rural areas of Angus...
  
  for secondary education
  Secondary education
  Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
  
  , with the school providing bus
  Bus
  A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
  
  es for the long journey to Monifieth
  Monifieth
  Monifieth is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the North bank of the Firth of Tay on the East Coast...
  
  .

The school has about 300 pupils and around 17-18 teachers. Famous Scottish footballer Craig Brewster

Craig Brewster

Craig James Brewster is a Scottish football player and coach. He made his name in a long and successful career playing as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, Dundee United and Dunfermline Athletic...

 attended the older Birkhill Primary School in Muirhead which has now been converted into several houses.

• sport
  Sport
  A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
  
  s facilities, including a football pitch
  Association football pitch
  An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
  
   and a tennis court
  Tennis court
  A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
  
   an also a very busy and enthusiastic Bowling Club
• the Birkhill Inn, a small restaurant
  Restaurant
  A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
  
   and pub often called the Birkie Inn
• the Millennium Hall, which hosts clubs and events.

Birkhill is located right next to Templeton Woods, home to one of the largest populations of Red Squirrels in the UK.

Muirhead

In Muirhead there is:

• a convenience store
  Convenience store
  A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
  
   called Adil's
• a chemist
• a doctor's
  General practitioner
  A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
  
   surgery
• a post office
  Post office
  A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
  
  
• a Scout
  Scouting
  Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
  
   Hall, home to the 46th Angus Scouts which is available for rent and is currently well utilised
• a small police station
  Police station
  A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
  
  .
• a stable
  Stable
  A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
  
  s and riding school
• two nursery school
  Nursery school
  A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
  
  s, called Birkhill Nursery School and Tiddlywinks Nursery School.
• a large area of woodland
  Woodland
  Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
  
  known as Backmuir Wood or 5 Mile Wood
• a Motor Mechanics
• a Church
• The Muirhead and Birkhill Millennium Hall which has over 25 different groups using it. Their website can be found at www.muirheadbirkhillmilleniumhall.org.uk

Sports

Birkhill has many sports teams including the school's very successful football team. They are also developing a basketball team, and a karate club.

There is also the newly formed Birkhill FC, An Amateur Sunday League Football team that play in the Dundee Sunday Morning Amateur Football Association. They play their home games at Birkie Park and more information can be found on their official website, www.birkhillfc.co.uk

Birkhill Primary School

Each year, round about May or early June the school has its official sports day and house football. The pupils from all classes are split up into houses, named Bruce, Duncan, Gray and Wallace.The 2008 Sports Day winners were wallace. Gray won in 2009, and Wallace won in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 Duncan won the house football and this year (2011) Gray won.

When they graduate from Birkhill P.S most go to Monifieth High. However, some choose Forfar Academy or Menzieshill High.

The school currently has a pupil roll of roughly 250.

Scouts Group

One of the main attractions of Birkhill and Muirhead is the "46th Angus Scouts" group who meet every Wednesday night at The Scout Hall. The troup have had considerable success in competition camps over the years and also have Scouts who have achieved the highly acclaimed Queens Scout Award. During the summer of 2010 the Scouts attended a very successful week long camp in the Lake District meeting Scouts from across the world and later this year fund raising permitted they will spend a week in Paris. The Scouts also run each year a highly successful Burns Night with tickets being in huge demand.

The Scout Hall is available for rent and current utilisation of the hall is very good with a huge selection of groups regularly renting the hall for many different functions with the income being ploughed back into the maintenance and upgrading of the hall and its facilities

Street Names

Many street names in Birkhill have been inspired by the local environment, for instance, Post Box Road has a post box on it and Wood Road leads to a wooded area. There are also streets named after the late John Huband who was a very famous accordion player from the village and also wrote a huge amount of music in his day. The streets are John Huband Drive and Accordion Way and are located just off Dronley Road