ADVENTURING WITH SV HAMAMAS!: On the Road to Dundee, Scotland, 2013

28 April, 2013

Today we headed off to Dundee and of course the lovely Scottish song "On the Road to Dundee" was foremost in our minds as we traveled through the beautiful countryside. As we were a tad early for most of the tourist attractions we ambled along the waterfront but it was bitterly cold and we were dodging showers so photographing was difficult. Note how well rugged up with are in the photos.

One of the most striking sights along the Firth of Tay was the remains of the Tay Railway Bridge which collapsed in 1879 whilst a train was on it. (Photo courtesy of the Internet).

(Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them.)

Collapsed Tay Bridge

Not to be deterred by the weather we "soldiered"on until we found our first major tourist attraction, the 46 gun HMS Frigate Unicorn which is the oldest British warship still afloat and the world's last intact warship from the days of sail. HMS Unicorn was built in 1824 after the Napoleonic Wars when there was a period of peace so she was put into reserve, never rigged and her hull was roofed over which would explain Unicorn's good condition. It was fascinating wandering around such an old timer and contemplate what life aboard would have been like.

Fran is just a tad rugged up!

HM Frigate Unicorn is berthed at Dundee's Victoria Dock

Dining Room HM Unicorn

Some of the 18 pounder guns below decks.

Tom and the Ship's Bell

Our main reason for visiting Dundee was to explore the Discovery Museum and Scott's Polar expedition ship, the Royal Research Ship, RRS Discovery, which was purpose built in Dundee for polar conditions and launched in 1901. She is docked on the waterfront only a few minutes walk from the HMS Unicorn.

RRS Discovery was built with a multi-layered wooden hull rather than steel as it was thought, at the time, that a wooden ship could withstand the pack ice better the new steel. One of the special features, added to impeded the sideways crush of the ice, was the use of 11" thick beams reaching from the port side to the starboard side.

Discovery is a magnificent old ship and we thoroughly enjoyed poking our noses into all the corridors, cabins and wardrooms and wondered what it would have been like to be trapped in the pack ice for 2 years!

RRS Discovery. Note the three masts.

John, Fran and Roslyn ready for any weather! RRS Discovery in the background

Discovery Decks and Life Raft

Fran at the Helm of Discovery.

Looking into the Rigging. Note the steam Stack.

The excellent polar collections in the Discovery Museum tell the story of RRS Discovery and the men who served on her. There is a large, well presented, array of items from the navigational instruments to the scientific specimens as well as more personal items representing daily life for the polar explorer. (Unfortunately we were unable to photograph inside the exhibition).

The Verdant Works Jute Museum was our next Dundee tourist attraction. The Jute Museum tells the fascinating story of jute from the incredible rise of the industry to it's decline and the influence it had on the life and work of old Dundee. Jute is an extremely versatile natural fibre as it can be use in sack making, ropes, boot lining, carpets, tents and sailcloth just to name a few of it's purposes. The decline in the industry came with the advance of synthetics. We were a little disappointed in this exhibition as it was not presented chronologically and therefore was confusing and once again photographing was prohibited.

On our way home we drove via Albroath so we could walk along the amazing Red Cliffs. Sadly this had to be a short walk as the "heavens" were about to "open" up.