The second half of our Scotland trip involved a stay with some family in Dundee, Scotland.  Dundee is a coastal city located about an hour from Edinburgh and across the River Tay from St. Andrews.  It is Scotland’s fourth largest city, but probably one you’ve never heard of.

It is where Brian Cox is from and serves as a filming location for HBO’s Succession.  In 2018 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid the city a visit to open the new Victoria & Albert Museum on the Dundee waterfront.  Next to the museum sits the RSS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic research vessel which was built in the city.

Dundee is also famous for its jute mills, which used to employ a large group of the population.  Many women went to work in the jute mills during both World Wars, including several of my family members.  Finally, Dundee is believed to be the birthplace of the first commercial brand of marmalade in the UK.

This part of our trip was a welcome break from the go,go,go we had been on since we arrived.  While you may never have heard of it, Dundee has quite a lot to offer.  But don’t tell anyone, we’ll let it stay a hidden gem.

Where We Stayed

We stayed with my cousin and his wife at their home.  They are retired, so they also served as our tour guides and shuttle service.  It was nice to not have to worry about how to get around! And we never got lost.

Day One

As you may recall from Travel: Edinburgh, Scotland {Part One} we were picked up in Edinburgh and made our way to Dundee.  I wish we had another day, I would’ve liked to have gone to the City Centre, but we can save that for next time.  Once we arrived in town, we got settled and stayed in for the night.

Day Two

Dundee Law– We took a drive up to the Dundee Law.  We always called it the “Law Hill” and it’s referred to as “the Law” by the locals.  We visited the WWI memorial and took in the views of the city.  It was so windy that day, we literally almost got blown over!

Barry Mill– We then drove to Montifeith and took a hike/walk around the Barry Mill.  It was luscious and green, and thankfully it wasn’t raining.  We also took in some family sites in the area including a gander around a very old cemetery looking at headstones for names we recognized as possible relatives.

We went for ice cream, and then headed home to make dinner.

Day Three

V & A Museum– Our first stop for the day was at the V & A Museum.  Wouldn’t you know, HBO had taken over the lobby as they were in town filming an episode of Succession {you can take the girl out of Hollywood, but it will follow her wherever she goes.}  They were not currently filming on this particular day, but the set was still there.

The museum had a revolving exhibit on gaming called Video Games: Design/Play/Disrupt, and we also visited the Scottish Design Galleries.

Verdant Works  – After lunch, we met up with another relative and went to this museum, which used to be a working jute mill.  It was quite a process to make jute, and the work was dangerous and tedious.  Think of that the next time you put on a pair of espadrilles in the summertime.

We also took a drive around more family sites, and checked out the spot where a building was bombed in Dundee during The Blitz in World War II.

Where We Ate

Homemade Pizzas– The night we arrived we made homemade pizza in the backyard.  It was delicious and so nice to have a home cooked meal.

Kitchen Pasta– Night two we had delicious pasta made for us, this time, in the kitchen.  I consumed a lot of wine this night because I was so grateful to sit and have adult conversation at, and after dinner.

Fisherman’s Tavern– We ate dinner here on our last night. It’s a Belhaven Pub, which we had by now become very familiar with.  Ella and I shared, you guessed it, the fish and chips.  It was yum!

Forgan’s – Just here for the ice cream.  My daughter really wanted ice cream, and the best ice cream parlour in Broughty Ferry {see below} is closed on Monday’s, so we had coffee and ice cream at Forgan’s.  It looked like a great place for lunch or dinner as well had we been staying longer.

Visocchi’s Café– We ate lunch here on our third day, but the main reason we were there was for the ice cream for Ella, again.  Since it’s got the reputation for being the best in town, we wanted to make sure she got to visit.  It was delicious.

Back to London

We were dropped off at the train station in Dundee early in the morning where we took the train back to London.  The trip back, the train ride was about 8.5 hours.  It was quite long, but we survived.  We visited the Harry Potter Shop in King’s Cross since it was closed the morning we left.

We checked into our hotel and ventured out for some dinner, taking a walk to Kensington High Street and a stop in Marks & Spencer where we did some shopping and ate at the cafe.  And bought more snacks for the hotel room.

Thank you for following along on our U.K. adventure!  We have a big trip booked this summer, but it’s all up in the air right now and will most likely need to be rescheduled for 2021.  I will be so excited for a time when we can travel again.  It really feeds my soul.

In the meantime, we’ll remember great trips of the past, and plan great trips in the future!

xoxo