Dundee, sunniest city in Scotland – fact or fiction? Well unfortunately on our day out the weather did not live up to this reputation; it was more like four seasons in one day, however we didn’t let this stop us.
Fuelled up on a delicious breakfast from our Quayside Bar and Grill and armed with our postcards and information from Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa, we were well prepared for our day of being tourists in our own city.
University of Dundee Botanic Garden
First stop was the University of Dundee Botanic Gardens. Located in the west
end of Dundee it was just a short ten minute drive from the hotel. The gardens really are a hidden secret worth venturing out of the city centre for. The jewel in the crown of the gardens really are the Glasshouses – transporting us to a tropical world. There is a vast collection of trees, shrubs and exotic plants enclosed in these spaces - some of the cacti plants in this space are over 70 years old
Out with the glass houses there is a further 9.5 hectares of outdoor space to explore which includes an edible garden, exotic plants and trees native to Asia, Australasia, America and the Mediterranean; a sculpture garden where students from DJCAD can display their works. The gardens also host year round events ranging from storytelling, historic talks to open air theatre events. We spent two hours at the gardens but with its onsite facilities and café you could easily make a day of it – especially if the weather is good.
verdant works museum
We were transported back to 18th century Dundee on our arrival to the Verdant Works Museum. We were greeted by jute Barron “Mr Forrester” on our arrival who told us all about the history of the building and about the production process for jute. Throughout our walk of the refurbished mill we learned about stories of the mill workers and their living conditions during this time. We learned that mill workers used to smuggle scraps of jute out of the factory to make “rovies” – a thick warm slipper type item for their families in an effort to keep them warm. We had the opportunity to watch and hear some of the mill machines in action and to particate in some of the many
interactive games and features of the museum. Tickets can be purchased allowing access to the Verdant Works as well as Discovery Point making this an ideal day out for all of the family – there really is something for everyone at both attractions – more about our visit to Discovery Point later on though.
Discover Dundee open-top tour
A short walk from the Verdant works and we were able to board the Discover Dundee Hop on Hop off bus. The open top bus with commentary, toured around the city allowing us to take in sights of the V&A museum, the DCA and the DC Thomson building. The bus actually has a stop right outside the hotel making it the perfect starting point for a day of exploring. The highlight of the bus trip for us was being able to take in the views of the whole city and over the River Tay – without having to do the climb of Dundee Law! Purchasing a ticket for the hop on hop off bus also allows unlimited travel on all other explore Dundee buses including the number 5 bus which would allow you to visit Broughty Ferry. We did not have the chance to do that on our trip but it is a great wee bonus for anyone with a day tickets.
The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum
We hopped off the bus right outside The McManus - Dundee’s art gallery and museum. The museum boasts an amazing eight galleries and it's very easy to let time slip away with you once you have arrived there. We found the “making of modern Dundee” and the “Dundee and the World” galleries the most interesting and between the two of them we gained a real insight to Dundee past and present. The building itself is absolutely stunning and makes for some awesome Instagramable photo opportunities – including a chance to have a picture with Oor Wullie!
Discovery Point and RRS Discovery
Discovery Point was our next and final tourist attraction stop off for the day. Our visit started with an engaging and immersive show in the dome of the visitor centre which transported us to a 360° panoramic view over the changes in the city skyline and narrated by Alan Cumming. The show itself was very thought provoking and after experiencing this we headed downstairs to begin the walk-through exhibit of the Royal Research Ship Discovery from the design and building stage right the way through to the ships Antarctic expedition of 1901. The museum was very well laid out with a selection of videos opportunity to explore. Although there are various areas of the ship under repair there is still plenty to see and enjoy whilst aboard. Definitely a must see and only a short walk from the hotel.
We ended our day by popping over to Slessor Gardens to enjoy an ice cream from Jannettas Gelateria. The ice cream shop is in a dangerously close location to the hotel (lunch break ice -cream?!) and we each enjoyed a delicious waffle cone of ice cream - yum! Twelve thousand steps, and seven hours later, we were back where we started – Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa. The perfect end to the day would be to enjoy a signature treatment in our Yu Spa – soothe all those footsteps away with a massage and facial delivered by our expert spa team.
