Best thing about Dundee? Speak to a Dundonian

“The Lochee Observehtreh! Its amazin, an naebdy kens aboot it eh!”

It wasnae the answer I’d been expecting. The Lochee Observatory? “De ye mean the ane on Balgay Hill?”

“Aye it’s class! Aabdy sez it’s the V&A this, the V&A that. But Eh think the Obserehtreh’s the best thing in this toon!”

I had got chatting with a couple guys outside Caws bar, the red pub wi the orange lamp outside, between the Murraygate and Meadowside.

They were helping me with a blog I’d been asked to write, which is about “five things you’d recommend about Dundee”.

And this friendly man on a smoke break fae his lunchtime pints was insistent. “It’s brilliant man, I’m tellin ye.”

The writer Alistair Heather nest to a quote: "I want visitors to know that there is way more to Dundee than 1980s decline and 2020s cultural revival."

I havnae been to the Balgay Observatory since I was at primary school.

Nor had I thought about visiting.

It’s in my diary now though.

Best thing about Dundee? Where do we start?

Some context: an art festival is coming to Dundee in June. Art Night it’s called.

Art Night has happened in London for a few years, and on June 24 it will leave England’s capital for the first time, and Dundee will host.

Organisers are working with local venues – the Keiller Centre, the Little Theatre at the foot of the hilltoon – and talented artists to make something really cool and special that will celebrate Scottish talent.

And they’ve asked folk like me to assemble wee introductions to Dundee for the newcomers they expect to attract to the city.

Donna Holford-Lovell next to a shelf, surrounded by objects in front of a wall with the words 'what would you like to see?' written on it — Donna Holford-Lovell in the exhibition space at the Keiller Centre. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson.

There’s an obvious list you’d trot out to artsy Edinburghers or London types that might come up the road… V&A Dundee. EH9 coffee on the Perth Road. Maybe a bite at DCA. Then the train south before the sun sets.

But I want people to experience way more than that.

This is such a cool and unique city, and it’s right in its creative stride at the minute I think.

But if you’re just here for a day, and you’re mostly touring art shows, how can you get a sense of what Dundee’s actually about?

Best thing about Dundee might be the people

Outside of Caws bar, I’d been chatting through my list of suggestions with a couple of guys I hadnae met before, and also trying to snap their photographs to illustrate the blog I was writing on the subject.

I was pitching them my first suggestion: speak to folk.

Dabid Blair standing in front of a wall outside a pub in Dundee — David Blair was happy to share some suggestions with Alistair. Image: Alistair Heather.

Dundonians, to me, have a foundation of Angus friendliness with a good daud of Irish humour on top. They’re like Glaswegians who can listen.

I ran this theory past David Blair, a tiler, who was in Caws for a pint and a swatch at the Scottish Cup Semi final. He agreed and, as I took some pictures of him for the blog, observed that even when Dundonians are trying to not be friendly it doesnae always work out.

He launched into a story about how his drunk pal once crossed a bar to pick a fight with footballer Billy Dodds, whom he’d spotted, but ended up accidentally befriending Dodds and the pair of them spent the night cheerfully bevvied instead.

I asked his pal, the fan of the observatory, if I could take his picture anaw.

“Nae chance,” he replied.

“The ainly folk wi ma picture’s the wife an the polis, an that’s plenty,” he said, stubbing his fag and heading inside.

We’ve reached out to local artist ⭐Isla Valentine Wade⭐ to share her suggestions on what to do and where to go when visiting Dundee for Art Night, this June 24th.

Recommendations include Open Close mural trail and a trip to the Phoenix!

More here: https://t.co/RARocmA9ow pic.twitter.com/C9JtSjOcfc

— ART NIGHT (@ARTNIGHTUK) April 28, 2023

So, aye. Speak to folk. That’s my big recommendation for Art Night migrants.

And please dear reader, dinnae mug them or bully them or anything if they try and get a blether wi ye. I’d feel partly responsible.

Now, what else to recommend about this city?

Dundee streets are alive with stories

Of course I’ll suggest my brother’s doughnut and coffee van down by the V&A. How could I not?

I think I’ll also recommend hiring a bike at the Cycle Hub and pedalling about the place. Dotting about venues by bike will let visitors explore the place at their own pace.

Dundee Cycle Hub with bikes lined up outside. — Dundee Cycle Hub. Image: Alistair Heather.

Jim’s Delhi Club in Stobswell gets a shout too, its the perfect place to grab scran to eat in Baxter Park, where the Pavillion is hosting Art Night events.

The final recommendation is to keep an eye out for the statues.

I want visitors to know that there is way more to Dundee than 1980s decline and 2020s cultural revival. It is one of Scotland’s ancient cities with layers of history and pockets full of fascinating chat.

Much of this is ephemeral, locked up in the stories of citizens who worked in the whaling industry, who fought for the Swedish king, who started the first women-only trade union, designed computer games, all sorts.

But the wee bronzes sprinkled around the town capture and share some fragments of the people’s stories, and I love them.