The Road and the Miles to Dundee

Why the young lassie (girl) was out on the moor alone and needed directions to Dundee is not made clear. Maybe she didn’t have access to Google Maps. Fortunately a gallant gentlemen shows her the way. This traditional song has been performed by many singers over the years. This version is by Alistair Hulett. He sadly passed away not long after this performance in January 2010.

The Road and Miles to Dundee – Alistair Hulett with The Wheelers and Dealers.

Dundee sits on the north shore of the Firth of Tay and has a long history as the key entry point to Scotland for shipping from northern Europe. Since 2001 there has been a plan to redevelop the city over a 30 year period. £1 million was set aside to develop for Dundee City waterfront. The jewel in the crown of this development is the V and A Museum.

V&A Dundee_Scotland_©HuftonCrow
V&A Dundee – Scotland_©HuftonCrow

In January 2010 an international architectural competition was announced to present design concepts for the new museum. 120 designs were submitted, 6 were shortlisted and in November 2010, the Japanese architectural practice Kengo Kuma & Associates was unanimously named the winner of the competition.

V&A Dundee - Scotland ©HuftonCrow
V&A Dundee – Scotland ©HuftonCrow

The building is positioned on the site of the demolished Earl Grey Dock. To my mind the building looks like a giant ship but in reality it consists of two buildings connected on the upper level. Nearby is the RRS Discovery, the exploration ship which was built in Dundee and sailed to Antarctica from 1901-1904 by Scott and Shackleton. The Discovery was the first ship to be built specifically for scientific research and was built in Dundee because of the shipbuilders expertise in building whalers they were used to navigate the Arctic ice packs.

Mayfield Tram Depot - Dundee - Scotland
Mayfield Tram Depot – Dundee – Scotland

In our travels we have a soft spot for transport museums. So it would be amiss to miss out the Dundee Transport Museum if you are visiting the city. The collection is a permanent one as such, the majority of vehicles are on loaned to the museum so they can change. The museum purchased the Mayfield Tram Depot in 2015 and it currently fundraising £4 million to restore the orginal 1901 section of the tram depot to its original position.

Contact Maggie today to book your city break to the 2014 UNESCO city of design. The title recognised the design innovations Dundee has contributed to the world, including aspirin, biomedical research which has led to hundreds of new cancer drugs, comics including the Beano and Dandy, orange marmalade, video games including Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto and of course the V & A Museum. At the time of writing it still remains the only UK city to have been awarded this title.

Check out our other posts on Scotland.

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