Den o' Mains: Did you roll Easter eggs at Dundee beauty spot?

The May Day in 1980 and all the minnows in the Den o’ Mains pond are going to have a hard time escaping all these eager folk with their nets. Image: DC Thomson.

In past times the Den o’ Mains in Caird Park was a beauty spot that would have been crowded with families in the summer.

In 1912 Sir James Caird purchased Den o’ Mains and surrounding lands including the golf course and park and gifted it to the city for recreational use of the people.

While it is still a beautiful place with abundant wildlife, it is no longer such a popular venue and has slipped down the list of go-to destinations.

The DC Thomson archives team has dug out a selection of photographs of the area from over the years.

They are sure to evoke feelings of nostalgia for those of a certain vintage.

Grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy having another browse back through the ages courtesy of The Dundonian, which appears in the Evening Telegraph every Wednesday.

Some of these photographs have not been seen for years.

Do these awaken any memories for you?

A popular walking spot

Families, including mums pushing prams, out for a stroll in 1947. — Families out for a stroll in 1947. Image: DC Thomson.

Strolling mums with bairns, babies and buggies down at Den o’ Mains in May 1947, just two years after the end of the war.

It looks all very nice but those mums had a tough time making ends meet back then — it was another seven years before rationing ended.

A bridge too far

Den o' Mains bridge and pond in 1948. — Den o’ Mains bridge and pond in 1948. Image: DC Thomson.

A young woman leans over the bridge to look into the pond in August 1948, while a man wheels his bicycle along the path towards the bridge.

You used to be able to go fishing for the sticklebacks in the pond.

Easter egg rolling at Den o’ Mains

A crowd of people on the slopes of Den o' Mains on Easter Sunday 1949. — A crowd of people on Easter Sunday 1949. Image: DC Thomson.

Den o’ Mains would come alive at Easter.

Generations of Dundonians would go there back to roll their decorated hard-boiled eggs down the slopes on Easter Sunday while enjoying a picnic.

The ultimate sacrifice

Two people and a dog beside the drinking fountain that was erected in 1922. — The drinking fountain was erected in 1922. Image: DC Thomson.

A couple and their dog beside the drinking fountain at Den o’ Mains in February 1949.

Put up in 1922, the memorial commemorates servicemen from the Mains Parish who made the supreme sacrifice between 1914 and 1918.

A snowy scene in 1953

A house, path and fields covered in snow in Den O' Mains in 1953 — A picturesque snowy scene in 1953. Image: DC Thomson.

Den o’ Mains in February 1953 during a blizzard that brought up to six inches of snow to some parts of Tayside after falling steadily all day.

The beauty spot was the perfect place for children to build a snowman.

The perfect backdrop

Snow lies on the ground as a stream runs off into the distance. Fintry is visible in the background. — Fintry in the background of this 1953 scene. Image: DC Thomson.

This idyllic, picture-postcard scene was also captured by our photographer during the blizzard and shows the Gelly Burn running down to the stone bridge.

The Fintry estate can be seen in the background, where 2,800 homes were built between 1949 and 1960 following the sheer growth in demand for housing.

Anyone for ice cream?

Crowds gather around ice cream vans and sit on the grass for sunshine and fun in 1958. — Sunshine and fun in 1958. Image: DC Thomson.

A large crowd of people out enjoying the sunshine on Easter Sunday in 1958.

You can see five ice cream vans serving customers along the road, while the Fintry tenements provide the backdrop to another busy scene.

Jam jars and fishing in Caird Park

People walking beside the stream at Den O' Mains — Parents and children walking in 1971. Image: DC Thomson.

A busy scene from April 1971 when Den o’ Mains was a popular beauty spot.

Kids from Fintry, Linlathen and Kirkton would practically spend their summer holidays there, carrying jam jars to put the small fish in.

Mains Castle

Three young workers clearing out rubble from one of the lower areas in Mains Castle during restoration work in August 1980.

The castle was first named Fintry Castle.

Topping out ceremony

Lord Provost James Gowan at the topping out ceremony at Mains Castle in April 1981.

Mr Gowans dropped the last trowel of cement to mark the end of the restoration work at the beautiful landmark built in the 16th Century by Sir David Graham.

Cleaning up beauty spot in 1990

Pupils clean up the pond while two people boat in the background — Pupils clean up the pond. Image: DC Thomson.

Den o’ Mains became unsightly and fell into decline in the 1980s.

First and second year pupils from Rockwell High School put on a pair of wellies and joined teacher June McAvoy to clean up the pond in June 1990.

Unwelcome visitor to Den o’ Mains

A partially submerged tow truck sits in the water at Den O' Mains — Truck in the pond in 1992. Image: DC Thomson.

The beauty spot became known as Dump o’ Mains in 1991, which prompted Dundee District Council to invest £110,000 to restore it to its former glory.

Those efforts wouldn’t have been helped by this truck ending up in the drink back in October 1992.

Thankfully things have got better over the decades.

It is the final picture in our look back at Den o’ Mains.

Did our pictorial trip back in time jog any memories for you?

Let us know.

Did you roll Easter eggs and go fishing with jam jars at Dundee’s Den o’ Mains?