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vampyresheepOur train home was at 4pm, so we had most of the day to spend in Dundee, with a beautiful weather forecast. Checked out of hotel, stored luggage and headed down to see the Discovery ship.
next door to the Discovery is the newly built V&A Dundee, sadly ran a tad behind schedule and not opening until September - a rather impressive looking building though
The RRS Discovery was the first ship purpose built for Antarctic Research and from 1901 - 1904 carried Shackleton and Scott on the first successful journey to the Antarctic. The penny now drops as to why there are penguin statues all over Dundee!
more penguins inside the museum!
The visit started off with an in-depth and fact-filled exhibition on the history of the Discovery and Antarctic Research
About an hour later emerging outdoors to visit the ship itself. Such a beauty. It has been wonderfully restored, so much rich varnished timber, and given the ship's long history, the restoration was carried out in such a way to cover various eras of the ship's life - most noteably in the lower decks where rooms had been reconstructed in the style of past expeditions.
down in the lower deck. Where Rob decided he was going to read every single sign in the room and I got bored/claustrophobic and explored the rest of the boat by myself!
no idea if these were actually Shackleton and Scott's rooms but it was nice to see anyway!
back on deck, waiting (and waiting) for Rob to re-emerge!
a beautiful old ship, with such a fantastic history, well worth the visit
strolled through town in search of macaroni pies to take home and visit the Howff Cemetery. When we reached Caird Hall, there was a Remembrance Ceremony taking place (sorry, no idea what exactly it was commemorating!)
The stunning McManus Gallery/Museum
Oor Wullie statue (a comic character) with an ode to Rabbie Burns graffiti'd on the wall next to it.
The cemetery was just around the corner - a slightly eerie but fascinating place. Established in 1564 by Mary Queen of Scots, its a grade 1 listed space, despite its apparent state of dilapidation (caused by the sandstone used for the gravestones being so prone to erosion)
One would probably benefit from a guided tour to explain the unusual features of the cemetery but there was at least an information board, which described some key tombstones - in particular those which used symbols to describe the interrred's trade, in an era when many were unable to read. Unusually for Scotland, there are many above ground style tombstones and not so unusually, many with skulls on them!
We had a couple of hours to find somewhere to have our last Scottish meal before getting our train and we were both thinking macaroni cheese. Remembered seeing it on the menu of a rather rough looking pub on the high street and after having two expensive meals on previous days, decided to chance it. The pub was the Trades House and inside it was a beautiful traditional pub, with snugs in each corner, to our surprise. The main bar was mostly filled with men drinking, whilst the snugs were occupied by ladies having lunch, surrounded by bags of shopping. A waitress quickly approached us and found us a table in one of the snugs and soon I was settled with an Edinburgh Gin and tonic, waiting for our macaroni cheese.
and waited ..... and waited.
An hour later our lunch finally arrived, after we chased it up with the waitress. It was worth the wait at least. No gourmet cuisine, just no-nonsense cheesy goodness.
went back to our hotel for a final coffee and collect bags, then set off to the station, sad to be leaving on such a beautiful sunny day. We'd reserved seats, on advice from station staff when we arrived in Dundee but bizarrely, hardly any of the other reserved seats were occupied! So for most of the journey home, we had a near empty carriage and the view from the window was far prettier than we had for the outbound route, due to the improved weather.
The incredible Tay rail bridge - quite something to cross
bye bye Dundee! Rather sad that this signified the end to another chapter of my life.
longing to be on the beaches
the full gallery of this final day is here
next door to the Discovery is the newly built V&A Dundee, sadly ran a tad behind schedule and not opening until September - a rather impressive looking building though
The RRS Discovery was the first ship purpose built for Antarctic Research and from 1901 - 1904 carried Shackleton and Scott on the first successful journey to the Antarctic. The penny now drops as to why there are penguin statues all over Dundee!
more penguins inside the museum!
The visit started off with an in-depth and fact-filled exhibition on the history of the Discovery and Antarctic Research
About an hour later emerging outdoors to visit the ship itself. Such a beauty. It has been wonderfully restored, so much rich varnished timber, and given the ship's long history, the restoration was carried out in such a way to cover various eras of the ship's life - most noteably in the lower decks where rooms had been reconstructed in the style of past expeditions.
down in the lower deck. Where Rob decided he was going to read every single sign in the room and I got bored/claustrophobic and explored the rest of the boat by myself!
no idea if these were actually Shackleton and Scott's rooms but it was nice to see anyway!
back on deck, waiting (and waiting) for Rob to re-emerge!
a beautiful old ship, with such a fantastic history, well worth the visit
strolled through town in search of macaroni pies to take home and visit the Howff Cemetery. When we reached Caird Hall, there was a Remembrance Ceremony taking place (sorry, no idea what exactly it was commemorating!)
The stunning McManus Gallery/Museum
Oor Wullie statue (a comic character) with an ode to Rabbie Burns graffiti'd on the wall next to it.
The cemetery was just around the corner - a slightly eerie but fascinating place. Established in 1564 by Mary Queen of Scots, its a grade 1 listed space, despite its apparent state of dilapidation (caused by the sandstone used for the gravestones being so prone to erosion)
One would probably benefit from a guided tour to explain the unusual features of the cemetery but there was at least an information board, which described some key tombstones - in particular those which used symbols to describe the interrred's trade, in an era when many were unable to read. Unusually for Scotland, there are many above ground style tombstones and not so unusually, many with skulls on them!
We had a couple of hours to find somewhere to have our last Scottish meal before getting our train and we were both thinking macaroni cheese. Remembered seeing it on the menu of a rather rough looking pub on the high street and after having two expensive meals on previous days, decided to chance it. The pub was the Trades House and inside it was a beautiful traditional pub, with snugs in each corner, to our surprise. The main bar was mostly filled with men drinking, whilst the snugs were occupied by ladies having lunch, surrounded by bags of shopping. A waitress quickly approached us and found us a table in one of the snugs and soon I was settled with an Edinburgh Gin and tonic, waiting for our macaroni cheese.
and waited ..... and waited.
An hour later our lunch finally arrived, after we chased it up with the waitress. It was worth the wait at least. No gourmet cuisine, just no-nonsense cheesy goodness.
went back to our hotel for a final coffee and collect bags, then set off to the station, sad to be leaving on such a beautiful sunny day. We'd reserved seats, on advice from station staff when we arrived in Dundee but bizarrely, hardly any of the other reserved seats were occupied! So for most of the journey home, we had a near empty carriage and the view from the window was far prettier than we had for the outbound route, due to the improved weather.
The incredible Tay rail bridge - quite something to cross
bye bye Dundee! Rather sad that this signified the end to another chapter of my life.
longing to be on the beaches
the full gallery of this final day is here
no subject
Date: 12 Jul 2018 10:33 (UTC)That V&A building surprised me, I'm guessing it hadn't been built when I went to Dundee.
no subject
Date: 12 Jul 2018 10:38 (UTC)They had just started constructing the V&A when i went to Dundee for study school at the start of my course - I noted then that its completion date was 2018, so I hoped to get to see it when I returned for graduation. Its a tad behind schedule, the building complete but not fitted out yet. I do want to go back to see it when open, they're restructing some Macintosh interiors there for a start. I was particularly enamoured by the varnished woodwork of the ship. My dad has a 1937 Rover, so I grew up watching him strip down all the wooden trim and meticulously varnish it, coat after coat, until it looked like glass; so I appreciate the work that goes into making it look that good.