Dundee travel guide
- For other places with the same name, see Dundee (disambiguation).
Dundee is in North East Scotland and is Scotland's 4th city. The city is just over 800 years old. It is located on the banks of the River Tay, which flows out into the North Sea, on the East Coast.
Understand
Dundee Tourist Information & Orientation Centre is located at Discovery Quay on Riverside by the RRS Discovery.
Relative to other Scottish cities, Dundee's location is:
- 1.5 hours North of Edinburgh
- 2 hours North East of Glasgow
- 1.25 hours South of Aberdeen
Historically, it is famous for the three J's. Jute, Jam and Journalism.
- Jute - The boats, laden with jute from the Indian Sub-Continent used to arrive at Dundee, where the jute would be unladen and processed in the many jute mills around the City. Due to these jute factories, there was a lot of immigrant labour during this time. The last textile factory closed down a few of years ago, circa 2001. A lot of the old jute factory buildings have now been converted into apartments and offices.
- Jam - Dundee is famous for its jam and is the original home of 'Marmalade'. The farms around Dundee grew (some still do) berries. These were used to make the jam. Also the Keillor Sweet Factory was famous for its sweets, although this is now shut down.
- Journalism - Dundee is home to the famous Dandy and the Beano comics. D C Thomson are the publishers of these and other print titles.
The people of Dundee, a.k.a. Dundonians, are generally friendly to outsiders. The student population is very high, about 1 in 7.
Talk
Dundonians have their own slang, a quick crash course strongle influenced by Lowland Scots (some of these are not necessarily restricted in use by Dundonians, rather Scots folks affen hae a wye o' spikin thit cin affa confuse ony English spikin fowk[rather people from Scotland often speak in a manner which tends to confuse people who speak English]):
- Ane/Ain = One
- Bairn = child (probably from Scandinavian)
- Broo = Jobcentre / unemployed (On the broo/My broo just came through) (from bureau)
- Bridie = A Meat filled Pastry, in the shape of a semi-circle, a delicacy from near-by Forfar
- to chib = to stab (Origin unknown, may be from Romansch for 'blade')
- Circle = roundabout / rotary junction
- Cundie = Drain (apparently from 'conduit')
- Dub = A puddle
- Eh (sounds like the 'e' at the beginning of 'elephant') = Aye/Yes
- Eh = I (pronoun). The fact that 'yes' and 'I' are the same in Dundonian is a source of common bafflement for visitors.
- Fleg = Fright/Scare
- Gie's = Give me (from 'give us')
- Green = Can be used for any open grassy space, but also specifically means the shared back garden of a block of tenements.
- Jessie = An effeminate or weak man (Literally it is a Scots form of the name 'Janet')
- Ken = Know
- Kent = Knew/Known
- Midden = a bin (common Scots)
- Minging = smelly/disgusting
- to pan (in) = to break (as in 'Eh panned in a wundie') or to beat up
- Peh = a meat pie (pronunciation shift ie->eh, similarly my->meh, high->heh, etc)
- Pochle = To steal
- Puss (short 'u', rhymes with 'bus') = Face (If someone is going to 'bang your puss', find a way to make a sharp exit...)
- Schemie = A resident of one of the outlying suburbs (or 'schemes'). Often used in a disparaging fashin.
- Tatties = potatoes
- Teuchter (pron. 'choochter') = A resident of the countryside, chiefly to the north. Often used in a disparaging fashion. (Also - someone may be referred to as being from Auchterteuchter)
- Tube/Choob = Stupid person, usually heard in the phrase 'you tube' (This usage predates the now-famous video sharing website ...)
Get in
By plane
Dundee has its own airport, with flights direct to London City Airport. CityJet operates the service, which are roughly £60 to £150 for one-way and £100 to £250 for a return. Bookings can be made through Air France and now offer worldwide connections usually routing from Dundee-London City-Paris then on to the final destination. Flybe operates Direct flights to Birmingham and Belfast City airports- Monday to Friday and Sunday. The flights are operated on behalf of Loganair and you can expect to pay around £35-£70 for single fares or around £80-£150 for a return. Also operated by Flybe starting in summer 2009 are direct flights to Jersey. Flybe also offers a connection service allowing passengers to book connecting flights from Dundee to many other UK and European destinations. Flights normally involve one change in Birmingham.
The nearest major international airports to Dundee are at Edinburgh - 60 mi (96km), or Aberdeen - 71 mi (114km). For Edinburgh airport, a combined train and bus service linking at Inverkeithing Railway costs £15 for a single and £22.60 for a period return.
By train
There is a mainline train station, located in the City Centre, called Dundee Station. Connections and timetables can be checked on-line. There are frequent services, almost every hour to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Average Cost for single ticket to Edinburgh/Glasgow is approximately £18, and return is £24. There are also three direct trains a day to and from London (King's Cross) via Edinburgh, Newcastle and York, the journey time is just under 6 hours. The full fare is around £120 one way, but tickets booked in advance can be as low as £14 each way.
By bus
Dundee Seagate Bus Station, also located in the city centre serves National Express coaches, Scottish Citylink and Megabus. There are frequent services, almost every hour to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Be wary, if you take a non-direct Coach / Bus, your journey time may double to up to 2hrs !! Average cost for a single ticket is approx £8. Check before you travel.There is no luggage storage but for a small fee you can leave your bag or suitcase across the road at Parkys furniture and fancy goods stores.
Get around
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To get around Dundee, there are ample provisions for car transport. Taxis are available at taxi ranks near principal sites, such as Cathedral, Train Station, etc. The local bus service, Travel Dundee, has extensive intra-city connections - with the routes as of 2006 as follows:
| Line | Routes | Destinations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RedLine | 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1X | City Centre - St. Mary's / Craigowl | |
| City Circle | 9, 10, 11, 12 | Circular | |
| Ferry Link | 9X, 10X | Barnhill - Broughty Ferry - City Centre - Ninewells Hospital - Technology Park | |
| Whitfield Hopper | 15, 17 | Ninewells Hospital - City Centre - Whitfield | |
| PrimeLine | 22, 22C, 22X | Ninewells Hospital - City Centre - Downfield | |
| Discovery Line | 28, 29 | Douglas - City Centre - Lochee - Charleston | |
| Fintry Shuttle | 32, 33, 33A, 33B | City Centre - Fintry | |
| 2, 2A | City Centre - Dryburgh | ||
| 3, 4 | Dryburgh Circular | ||
| 7, 8 | City Centre - Broughty Ferry (Inner Circle) | ||
| 18, 18A, 19, 21 | City Centre - Kirkton - Woodside | ||
| 36, 37 | Northern Circular | ||
| 51 | City Centre - Liff Hospital - Fowlis | ||
| 55 | City Centre - St Mary's | ||
| 88 | Sainsbury's Free Shuttle Bus |
All the local buses converge into the city centre and are relatively cheap. You can buy a 10 journey pass or an all day travel pass. Rural services are operated by Strathtay.
See
- McManus Galleries - re-opens Spring 2008
- Broughty Castle
- Mills Observatory . A "public" astronomical observatory, with free entry; its dome is made of papier-mâché, oddly enough.
- Sensation Science Centre
- Tay Road Bridge
- Tay Rail Bridge part of which collapsed in the 1800's. Parts still visable in the river. Longest rail bridge in Britain.
- Discovery Point (RRS Discovery)
- Verdant Works
- Frigate Unicorn
- Dundee Law
- Camperdown Wildlife Park
Do
- Dundee Rep Theatre, .
- Dundee Contemporary Arts, .
- Ice Arena, .
- Sensation, .
- Flower and Food Show, .
- Golf, .
- Swimming, .
- Go hill walking in the Highlands, e.g. Glen Clova .
- Guided historical walks bringing the colourful and often bloody history of this old Scottish burgh to life,
86.131.228.13 12:29, 31 January 2009 (EST)== Learn ==
- Dundee University
- University Of Abertay
- The High School of Dundee
- Dundee College
- Tayside Language Centre
Work
- Job Centers Wellgate Center & Gellatly Street
- Adecco Meadowside / Albert Sq.
Buy
The Overgate and the Wellgate are Dundee's Main shopping Malls with various national and international Brands Such as French connection,Zavvi, H&M Etc.
Substantial Branches of High street stores can be found along the murraygate.
Eat
In recent years a cafe culture has flourished in Dundee City Center. There are plenty of places to eat from fast food take away to cafes and restaurants. You can't miss them.
- Twin City Cafe, City Square
- The Parlour Cafe, West Port. Incredibly busy thanks to them having the best lunch-time menus in town. Menu changes daily, featuring lots of vegetarian options.
- Malabar, Perth Road. A local favourite, serving the best Indian curries in Dundee.
- Bon Appetit, off Commercial Street
- Cafe Buongiorno, off the Reform Street.
- Balaka on the Perth road
- Jahangir on the Hawkhill
- Antonio's Roseangle
- Phoenix Bar on the Nethergate serves up good pub grub at reasonable prices.
- Dil'se, Perth Road, .
- Domino's Pizza, at City Quay
- City Harbour Chinese Buffet
- Jimmy Chung's Chinese Buffet (part of a Scottish chain)
- Tickety Boo's on the Seagate/Commercial Street junction. Chef Avril's chilli and curries are to die for. Excellent food. Filthiest toilets in town.
- The Old Horse Shoe Bar top of Commercial Street. Excellent food.
- The Old Bank Bar Union Street
- Rancho Pancho Commercial Street. Mexican food.
- The Counting House Reform Street. J.D. Wetherspoon's
- The Globe West Port / Hawkhill.
- Fast Eddie's American Diner Where were you in '62. Cowgate next to Deja Vu.
If you are self-catering, then you can get your supplies from Tesco. There is a branch in the city centre, one next to the Railway Station by the river-side, one at the Stack Park, Lochee, one in South Road near Sterling Mills and another on the Kingsway (the main road running through Dundee). The latter of these is a large Tesco Extra superstore. There is a large ASDA at East Kingsway as well as a slightly smaller store at Gilburn Road. Both Riverside Tesco and Kingsway ASDA operate on a 24-hr basis. Morrisons supermarket is on the Forfar Road, north of the A90 Kingsway.
Drink
There is no shortage of pubs. If you want to do a pub crawl then head to the Hawkhill, where plenty of pubs line the street, including a mixture of independent, themed and Irish pubs.
The Nethergate is also a good place to go for plenty of bars that are popular with students. The city center has fewer places that are worth going, although the Seagate has some nice bars, including outlets run by Yates and Wetherspoon. The student unions of Dundee and Abertay Universities have many good nights and are great for a cheap night out.
A gay scene, of sorts, is situated on the Seagate, including a nightclub called Out and its sister pub, Brooklyns, both of which are opposite the bus station. Also The Gauger is generally reknowned to be a gay bar.
- Tickety Boo's Seagate / Commercial Street.
- The Old Horse Shoe Bar Commercial Street.
- Lennon's For all you Beatles fans.
- Trades House Bar Union Street.
- The Old Bank Bar Union Street.
- The West Port Bar North Lindsay Street. Handy for the nightclubs.
- The Globe Westport / Hawkhill. Handy for nightclubs.
Night clubs
All the night clubs cluster around the city center.
- London, . Ward Road.
- Out Seagate. Gay club.
- Fat Sams, . South Ward Road.
- The Reading Rooms Blackscroft.
- Mondo's Session Street
- Deja Vu Cowgate
- Liquid opening in Nov. 2008. South Ward Road. formerly the Mardi Gras.
- The Cage St. Andrew's Lane.
Sleep
- Apex City Quay,
- Swallow Dundee,
- The Hilton,
- Travel Inn, .
- Dundee Backpackers Hostel
- Holiday Inn Dock Street. Opening soon 2008
- During the summer, the majority of student accommodations are empty, it may be worthwhile contacting the local Universities to see if they have anything to offer
Contact
Cellular network coverage is provided by the normal UK carriers.
Stay safe
The local police is Tayside Police and the Headquarters is in the town centre at the end of West Bell St beside Dundee's Sheriff Court. Although in the UK, '999' is the number to call the emergency services, you may also want to take note of the direct phone number to the Tayside Police HQ : +448456005705. Dundee has an extensive CCTV system, covering most of the city and the entire city centre. This is owned by Dundee City Council and run by Tayside Police and has helped reduce crime significantly.
Dundee, like any other major city, has it's anti-social problems. Mainly drugs. The area round the rear of the Wellgate centre (Hilltown) has a bad reputation and care should be exercised on The Law at night. Overall the city has a good reputation.
Dundee has a Dual Carriageway going through it, the Kingsway, which almost splits the city in half. Be aware of speeding cars, as accidents are not uncommon, as in any other busy city.
Cope
Churches
The following is a list of established Christian churches in Dundee. Alongside the established churches in Dundee, Dundeeforchrist works with many of the city's churches organizing many different events such as "Resurrection Day", with specially invited guests/bands.
- Central Baptist Church .
- Dens Road Church .
- Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's) .
- Gilfillan Memorial Church .
- Hillbank Evangelical Church .
- Lochee Churches of Scotland .
- Mains of Fintry Church of Scotland .
- Midcraigie Parish Church .
- St Andrew's RC Cathedral
- St Andrew's Parish Church .
- St Mary Magdalene .
- St Joseph's RC Church .
- St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral .
- St Peter's Free Church .
- St Salvador's Episcopal Church .
- The Gate Christian Fellowship .
- The Steeple Church .
- Williamson Memorial Unitarian Church .
Mosques
- Dundee Islamic Society Central Mosque
- Jamia Masjid Bilal
- Tayside Islamic & Cultural Education Society
Get out
- If you want to visit the Glens and the Highlands then the best way to do it is by car. Enterprise Car hire is located next the Bus / Coach station. (131 Seagate, Dundee, DD1 2HW)
- St Andrews is an ancient university town by the sea, the home of the oldest university in Scotland, the home of the Royal and Ancient (the ruling body of Golf), and the former ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. It is a short journey from Dundee by bus or car.
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