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Dundee

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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.

[edit] Understand

Dundee, City of Discovery

Dundee Tourist Information & Orientation Centre is located at 21 Castle Street, Dundee, DD1 3AA

Relative to other Scottish cities, Dundee's location is:

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 a friendly bunch. The majority of people in Dundee are either retired or students. The student population is very high, about 1 in 7.

Dundee is a city with a village feel. Most locals are related to one another in some way and this contributes to a homely atmosphere wherever one goes in the city. Some are wary of outsiders (people from Scotland's West Coast region especially)-unfortunately there have a few incidences of attacks on foreign students in Dundee-so exercise caution and be safe.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Dundee has its own airport, with flights direct to London City Airport. ScotAirways operates the service, which are roughly £60 to £150 for one-way and £100 to £250 for a return.

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.

[edit] 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 Edinburgh and Glasgow. Average Cost for single ticket is approx £18, and return is £24. Check before you travel.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Get around

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:

 LineRoutesDestinations
RedLine  1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1XCity Centre - St. Mary's
City Circle  9, 10, 11, 12Circular
Ferry Link  9X, 10XBarnhill - Broughty Ferry - City Centre - Ninewells Hospital - Technology Park
Whitfield Hopper  15, 17Ninewells Hospital - City Centre - Whitfield
PrimeLine  22, 22C, 22XNinewells Hospital - City Centre - Downfield
Discovery Line  28, 29Douglas - City Centre - Lochee - Charleston
Fintry Shuttle  32, 33, 33A, 33BCity Centre - Fintry
   2, 2ACity Centre - Dryburgh
   3, 4Dryburgh Circular
   7, 8City Centre - Broughty Ferry (Inner Circle)
   18, 18A, 19, 21City Centre - Kirkton - Woodside
   36, 37Northern Circular
   51City Centre - Liff Hospital - Fowlis
   55City Centre - St Mary's
   88Sainsbury'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.

[edit] See

[edit] Do

For more entertainment suggestions (and details of when things are happening) check out What's going on in....Dundee

[edit] Learn

Dundee has high student population, because it has two universities and one college located very close to the centre of the city.

Collectively, the Academia in Dundee are strong in the following fields:

  • Software Engineering
  • Computer Games Development
  • Medicine
  • Dentistry
  • MBA
  • Civil Engineering
  • waste water Technology

It is very well worthwhile just walking around the campuses, as some of the architecture of the buildings is worth seeing. e.g. the new Abertay library in Bell St or College Green and Geddes Quad of the University of Dundee just inside the west end.

[edit] Work

[edit] Buy

There are two indoor shopping centres in the city centre, namely, The Wellgate and The Overgate. There is also plenty of outdoor shopping in the surrounding streets.

[edit] Eat

In recent years a cafe culture has flourished in Dundee City Centre. There are plenty of places to eat both from fast food take away, cafes and restaurants. You can't miss them. Recommended ones:

  • Cafe Buongiorno, off the Reform Street.
  • The Balaka on the Perth road
  • Jahangir on the Hawkhill
  • Phoenix Bar on the Nethergate serves up good pub grub at reasonable prices.
  • Dil'se on Perth Road
  • Domino's Pizza at City Quay
  • City Harbour Chinese Buffet
  • Jimmy Chung's Chinese Buffet (part of a Scottish chain)

[edit] 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 centre 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.

[edit] 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 organising many different events such as "Resurrection Day", with specially invited guests/bands.

[edit] Nightlife

All the night clubs cluster around the city centre. Ones that come to mind are:

[edit] Sleep

  • Apex City Quay
  • The Hilton
  • Travel Inn
  • 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

[edit] Contact

Cellular network coverage is provided by the normal UK carriers. There were Internet cafes but they have shut down, leaving only one, in The Overgate Centre, inside Debenhams department store.

[edit] Stay safe

The local police is Tayside Police and the head office is in the town centre at the end of West Bell St beside Dundee's Sherrif 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 : +44138223200

Mostly, the city centre and the West End (student area) are as safe as any other city. The area round the back of the Wellgate centre (Hilltown) has a bad reputation, and the general thinking is that the closer to the river you are the nicer the area is. The walk along the river past Tesco is deserted and not recommended, and the Law hill can be dodgy at night.

Dundee has a Dual Carriageway going through it which almost splits the city in half.

[edit] Cope

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]):

  • Bairn = child
  • Broo = Jobcentre / unemployed (On the broo/My broo just came through)
  • Broon = Brown
  • Bridie = A Meat filled Pastry, in the shape of a semi-circle
  • Circle = Roundabout
  • Dinnae = Don't
  • Fleg = Fright/Scare
  • Ingin= Onion
  • Irn Bru = A soft drink, extremely popular in Scotland
  • Ken = Know
  • Tatties = potatoes
  • Wee = small
  • Minging = Megan Reid

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 last of these is a large Tesco Extra superstore.

[edit] 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.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!
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