After recently moving to the city, writer Billy Jane gets to know her new home during a day out in Dundee – using an open-top bus tour to get around!
-
Some Courier online content is funded by outside parties. The revenue from this helps to sustain our independent news gathering. You will always know if you are reading paid-for material as it will be clearly labelled as “Partnership” on the site and on social media channels,
This can take two different forms.
“Presented by”
This means the content has been paid for and produced by the named advertiser.
“In partnership with”
This means the content has been paid for and approved by the named advertiser but written and edited by our own commercial content team.
My fiancé, Salvatore and I moved from Aberdeen to Dundee last December. Back then, we thought relocating to a smaller city would, honestly, be boring. We consoled ourselves by thinking, at least we would be less than two hours away from our favourite Edinburgh.
Boy, were we wrong. Dundee has proven itself to be a dynamic and exciting place to live. Truly, the City of Discovery.
It’s really easy to enjoy a day out in Dundee – something I am even more convinced of now, after going on Xplore Dundee’s city tour.
Hopping on the Discover Dundee tour
I did my research, so I knew the bus comes every half hour. I left my flat at lunchtime and walked to where the tour kicks off, a place that’s fittingly called Discovery Point. (It’s the home of the RRS Discovery, the vessel known for its ground-breaking expedition to Antarctica in the early 1900s).
I caught the Discover Dundee bus at 1 pm. But it was already parked at 12:57 pm. Right on time.
The bus driver was very friendly, helping me to activate my ticket and to scan it. Before heading to the top of the bus, I got one of the free pairs of headphones to listen to the audio commentary on board.
I was lucky enough to grab one of the seats in the open-top area. They’re the best if you want to take photos.
Discovering the city’s West End
No day out in Dundee is complete without a visit to the West End, the city’s cultural and educational quarter. We headed here and for the first time, I saw Dundee Rep. I was surprised to know that one of its famous alumni is Scottish actor Brian Cox, known for starring in the TV series, ‘Succession’.
We then turned towards Hawkhill where we passed the University of Dundee, a top institution in the UK known for its medical courses. (It’s also the alma mater of the rock band, Snow Patrol).
The ‘3 Js’ of Dundee’s local industry
We were soon introduced to the ‘3 Js’ of Dundee’s local industry: Jute, Jam and Journalism.
The first ‘J’ is for jute. Dundee was apparently the world capital for jute in the late 19th century. There were over 100 jute mills in the city, producing almost every piece of jute cloth used anywhere in the world back then.
No, jam wasn’t invented in Dundee. But it was here that Janet Keiller created a more spreadable kind of marmalade, cooked using expiring oranges bought from a Spanish ship that took shelter in Dundee’s port in the 1700s.
The third and last ‘J’ is for journalism. That’s because DC Thomson, the British media company that publishes global titles like Stylist, calls Dundee home. It also prints the city’s newspapers, The Courier and Evening Telegraph, and beloved comics like the Beano. From the bus, we could spot statues of the famous comic characters around town – discovering them all is a great way to spend a day out in Dundee. (Full disclosure: I work for DC Thomson.)
Now, Dundee aims to become an established hub for esports. Did you know that some of the biggest titles in gaming originated here, like Lemmings and the Grand Theft Auto franchise? (I didn’t!)
City tour highlight: a grandstand view
The tour’s highlight is going up to the city’s highest point, Dundee Law. There, the bus stopped for several minutes so passengers could enjoy breathtaking views of the entire city, the River Tay (Scotland’s longest river) and the Kingdom of Fife beyond (Yes, it’s still called a kingdom. I kid you not).
From that vantage point, one could easily see why Dundee is one of the greenest cities in the UK.
I really couldn’t have asked for better conditions that day. It’s summer, after all, and Dundee is Scotland’s sunniest city.
And so, with the sun shining and the wind whipping my hair around, we proceeded to cross the Tay Road Bridge and back for gorgeous riverfront views of the city. It would be hard to miss the V&A, Scotland’s first design museum and the only one outside London. It was built after Dundee was named a UNESCO city of design, joining the likes of Berlin, Istanbul and Singapore.
Plans for my next day out in Dundee
I thoroughly enjoyed the tour but next time I am enjoying a day out in Dundee, I would definitely hop off at the Law and wander around until the next bus comes after half an hour.
And after the city tour, I would take a bus to Broughty Ferry to make the most of my ticket.
At £10 a pop, it lasts all day, covering unlimited travel on all of Xplore Dundee’s buses so passengers can explore the city at their own pace.
Explore Scotland’s sunniest city and book tickets for the Discover Dundee open top bus tour.
