Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
one-billion-pound transformation, domed
Discovery Point
is an impressive
development centring on the Royal Research Ship
Discovery
. Something of an icon for
Dundee's renaissance,
Discovery
is a three-mast steam-assisted vessel built in Dundee in
1901 to take Captain Robert Falcon Scott on his polar expeditions. A combination of
brute strength and elegance, she has been beautifully restored, with polished wood
panels and brass trimmings giving scant indication of the privations suffered by the
crew. In the Antarctic, temperatures on board would plummet to -28°C and turns at
having a bath came round every 47 days. Before you step aboard there are a series of
interactive displays about the construction of the ship and Scott's journeys, including
the chill-inducing “Polarama” about life in Antarctica.
10
Unicorn
Victoria Dock • April-Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov-March Wed-Fri noon-4pm, Sat & Sun 10am-4pm • £5.25 •
W
frigateunicorn.org
An endearingly simple wooden frigate built in 1824,
Unicorn
is the oldest British warship
still afloat and was in active service up until 1968. Although the interior is sparse, the
cannons, the splendid figureheads and the wonderful model of the ship in its fully rigged
glory (the real thing would have featured over 23 miles of rope) are fascinating. he ship is
moored across from
Discovery
on the other side of the road bridge near the multimillion
pound redevelopment of Victoria Dock (a footpath connects the two ships).
Dundee Law
It's a 30min walk to the foot of the Law from the city centre; or you can take bus #22 from Commercial Street
A mile or so north of town,
Dundee Law
is the plug of an extinct volcano and, at 571ft,
the city's highest point. Once the site of a seventh-century defensive hill fort, it's now
an impressive lookout, with great views across the whole city and the Tay. he climb to
the top is steep and often windy.
Mills Observatory
Balgay Hill, two miles west of the centre •
April-Sept Tues-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat & Sun 12.30-4pm; Oct-March Mon-Fri 4pm-10pm,
Sat & Sun 12.30-4pm; planetarium show Oct-March every other Fri, plus one Wed/month in summer (see website for details) • Free;
planetarium £1 •
T
01382 435967 • Buses #17 and #26 from Nethergate stop on Ancrum Road, on the edge of Lochee Park
Balgay Hill
, Dundee's smaller volcanic outcrop, sits a mile to the west of Dundee Law
and is skirted by wooded
Lochee Park
. On its summit sits the
Mills Observatory
,
Britain's only full-time public observatory with a resident astronomer. he best time to
visit is after dark on winter nights; in summer there's little to be seen through the
telescope, but well-explained, quirky exhibits and displays chart the history of space
exploration and astronomy, and on sunny days you can play at being a human sundial
and take in the fantastic views over the city through little telescopes. From October to
March the
planetarium
runs a fortnightly show, while the observatory also has special
opening times to coincide with eclipses and other astronomical events.
Broughty Ferry and around
W
cometobroughty.co.uk • Connected to the city by a 20min bus ride; use National Express bus #5 or #17, or Stagecoach Strathtay's #73
and #73a services; all leave from either High Street or Seagate in the town centre
Four miles east of Dundee's city centre lies the seaside settlement of
BROUGHTY FERRY,
now engulfed by the city as a reluctant suburb. he ferry referred to in the name was a
railway ferry, which transported carriages travelling between Edinburgh and Aberdeen,
it was inevitably closed following the building of the first ill-fated Tay Rail Bridge.
Comprising an eclectic mix of big villas built by jute barons up on the hillside and
small fishermen's cottages along the shoreline, “he Ferry”, as it's known, has
