Dundee
15miles

  

Dundee is Scotland's fourth largest city, and sits on the banks of the Firth
of Tay. It is a manufacturing town, at one time famous for the "three Js"
of jam, jute and journalism. It also brims with history and heritage, and
was granted royal burgh status in the 12th century, when it was one of the
largest and wealthiest towns in Scotland.
RSS Discovery, Captain Scott's ship, was built in Dundee and launched in
1901. It now forms the centrepiece of Discovery Point & RSS Discovery, at
Discovery Quay. You can explore the ship, "travel" to Antarctica in the Polarama
Gallery and find out about one of the greatest stories of exploration and
courage ever told.
At City Quay you'll find HM Frigate Unicorn, the oldest British-built ship
still afloat. It was built at Chatham in 1824 for the Royal Navy, and carried
46 guns.
In 1999, The Verdant Works, in West Henderson's Wynd, was voted Europe's
top industrial museum. Jute was once a staple industry in Dundee, employing
over 40,000 people. Here, in a former jute mill, you are taken on a tour
of the trade, from its beginnings in India to the end product in all its
forms.
Sensation is Dundee's science centre. Located in the Greenmarket, it is a
place where "science is brought to life" using specially designed interactive
exhibits. The Mills Observatory, in Balgay Park a mile west of the city
centre and accessed from Glamis Road, also deals with matters scientific.
It is Britain's only full time public observatory, and houses a 25mm Cooke
telescope. It also has a small planetarium and display area.
On the Coupar Angus Road is the Camperdown Wildlife Centre, with a fine
collection of Scottish and European wildlife, including brown bears, Scottish
wildcats, wolves and bats. To the west of the city, on the north bank of
the Tay, is the Carse of Gowrie, one of the most fertile areas of Scotland.