The road and the miles to Dundee
Our second weekend away last November was to Dundee. We wanted to see the new V&A which had opened in September and, as Dundee has several other museums which we had never visited before, we decided to book a three night stay with John taking the Friday and Monday off work.
The title of my post is taken from a Scottish folk song which begins:
Cauld winter was howlin’ o’er moor and o’er mountain; wild was the surge on the dark rolling sea.
Our journey was nothing like that, well, apart from the cauld (cold) winter bit. We drove up the motorway and stopped in Perth for lunch and to stretch our legs. Perth is my second favourite Scottish city I think, and I’ve published several posts about it in the past. This time, something caught my eye that I hadn’t noticed before – the Sandeman pub which was previously a public library (you might have to enlarge the second picture to see the inscription above the door and windows).
I chose the Apex Hotel because, although I have never stayed overnight in Dundee before, I had visited it a couple of times for conferences and knew it was good. The location, right on the waterfront, is excellent and only a short walk from the V&A. It’s not the most exciting of buildings, but the surroundings were attractive at night (see top of post). Berthed nearby is HMS Unicorn, launched by the Royal Navy in 1824 and now the world’s last intact warship from the days of sail. We’d like to have visited, but just didn’t have time.
The hotel was also handy for a good range of restaurants. On the following evenings we would eat Chinese and Thai food. This first night we chose The White Goose – I can’t remember now what we ate but I know it was delicious, and I liked their goose mural shown above. We returned to our room eager to get a good night’s sleep to prepare us for our visit to the V&A the following morning.
Linked to Cathy’s On journey strand, though my journey is nothing like as exciting as her tales of the Camino.
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
That unicorn figurehead is spectacular. It would be fun to tour the ship.
Jude
p.s. your blog no longer remembers me — I am having to type out my contact info each time I comment.
LikeLike
Oh dear, I’m sorry about that! I know how frustrating that is. I haven’t changed anything recently and have just had a look at the settings and can’t work out what to do. Is it just my blog or does it happen elsewhere? If it’s not just me and you are commenting from an Apple device, it might be the privacy setting in Safari not carrying your details from site to site.
LikeLike
Anabel – I am almost singing that folk song, so vivid is the description!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a good song, I should have included a video!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A friend sings a parody of “The Road to Dundee” and I did my best to find the lyrics but–ah, well, not everyone like parodies anyway. It’s a beautiful tune, whichever set of words it has.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed it is!
LikeLiked by 1 person
One day I would like to get to Dundee and visit the Unicorn. My mum was stationed there during WW2 with the WRNS when it was used as a base ship for the Naval Officer in Charge. She was there at the end of the war when two German officers from a U boat came on board and surrendered.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a wonderful story! I will try to remember that when I go.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a nice goose! I’d rather the pub was still a library though. There are too many pubs already, and not nearly enough libraries!
LikeLike
Too true! Though as others have pointed out, the combination of beer and books is appealing.
LikeLike