Drift back in time with pictures of snowy Dundee in the 50s and 60s

A group of women walk down a snowbound street as they go shopping during the Big Freeze in 1963. — A group of women going shopping during the Big Freeze in 1963. Image: DC Thomson.

These pictures of Dundee under a blanket of snow in winters of yesteryear will make you warm all over.

There were numerous snowfalls throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Our gallery features some of Dundee’s most brutal winters, images which bring back memories of 1947, which was the coldest in three centuries.

Roads were impassable and pavements were like an ice rink.

These photographs of Arctic blizzards and several feet of snow are courtesy of The Dundonian, which appears in the Evening Telegraph every Wednesday.

Some of these photographs have not been seen for years.

Main Street

Dundee Corporation workers clearing the tram lines in Main Street in January 1951.

Snow ploughs were in action throughout Dundee overnight for the first time since the legendary winter of 1947, which was the worst since the mid-19th Century.

Snow lay from six inches to 15 inches deep in 1951.

Forfar Road

a bus makes its way down a snowy rural road with snow-laden trees beside the road — A wintry scene on the road between Dundee and Forfar. Image: DC Thomson.

Heavy March snow in 1954 made for a striking, if hazardous, winter wonderland on the road between Dundee and Forfar.

The snow had been falling continuously for 24 hours.

Snow ploughs and a bulldozer worked on the main road between Dundee and Forfar, where one of the worst spots was between Tealing and Petterden.

Skiing on Balgay Hill

Heavy snow blanketed the country in February 1958.

Amid the usual reports of late trains, blocked roads and travel misery for commuters, someone photographed Jack Gardiner of Craigie Avenue skiing down Balgay Hill.

Look at all the chimneys dotting the Dundee skyline – changed days indeed.

Union Street and Nethergate

a police officer directing traffic in the middle of a snowy, slushy Dundee street — Directing traffic in February 1958. Image: DC Thomson.

A police officer was directing traffic at the junction of Union Street and Nethergate during a heavy snowfall in February 1958.

All roads to and from Dundee were completely blocked.

Scores of motorists had to trudge miles through heavy snow to reach the city.

Tay Ferries

Crew members clearing snow on the deck with Dundee harbour in the background. — Crew members clearing snow with the harbour in the background. Image: DC Thomson.

Snow being cleared from the deck of a Tay ferry in February 1958.

Although long gone after the opening of the Tay Road Bridge, the Tay Ferries were one of the first railway-ferry services in the world.

The last ferry to make the Tay crossing in August 1966 became a Hollywood star as the Popeye Barge in the 1980 live action version starring Robin Williams.

Slush in the Sixties

cars and buses drive through the slush, with a woman looking for a clear path through the conditions. — A woman looking for a clear path through the conditions. Image: DC Thomson.

The Nethergate and High Street were deep in slush in January 1960.

Heavy snow marooned villages, brought traffic to a standstill, wrecked telephone lines and buried cars and even houses in some parts of north-east Scotland.

Soldiers and railway workers freed passengers from four trains marooned near Forfar.

Stranded vehicles in Fintry

People on the road beside stranded vehicles on the Forfar Road in January 1960. There is a sign reading 'road blocked' on the road — Scene at Forfar Road leading into Fintry during snowfall. Image: DC Thomson.

Snow and stranded vehicles on the Forfar Road in January 1960.

A Dundee Corporation bus can be seen going up the entrance to the Fintry estate with the tenements in the background, which were built from 1949.

Farmland dominates the left of the picture, before the dual carriageway was built.

Dundee High Street

a horse and cart joins cars on a snowy Dundee road, with pedestrians on the pavement and snowflakes falling — Snow scene looking along the Nethergate. Image: DC Thomson.

Big snowflakes fluttering down on Dundee High Street in 1961.

George Robbie’s Shire work horse was more than a match for the conditions.

A familiar sight in Dundee in the 1960s and 1970s, the horses and their carters would trot around the city streets and, unlike cars, they wouldn’t get stuck in the snow.

Shopping in the snow

shoppers on a Dundee street as the snow falls — There was snow in the City Square in 1961. Image: DC Thomson.

Shoppers brave the winter weather in December 1961.

Heavy snow caused chaos and drivers were abandoning their vehicles in some places.

Snow ploughs were out and bus services were disrupted in Dundee.

Balgay Park

Two people walking through the snow in Balgay Park in December 1961.

The B-listed bandstand pavilion dated from 1877 and was gutted by fire in May 1993.

It was reconstructed in 1997 as an open-air pergola with the retention of some brickwork and iron trusses which survived the vandals’ attack.

The Big Freeze

ice makes the sea off Broughty Ferry beach look like a scene from the Antarctic, with the harbour visible in the distance — Arctic conditions at Beach Crescent in January 1963. Image: DC Thomson.

The Big Freeze of 1963 was dubbed ‘the winter to end all winters’.

For the first time in many years, ice was a navigational risk with the sea off Broughty Ferry beach looking like a scene from the Antarctic.

Transport was a no-go as trains froze, along with the diesel in buses and lorries.

April snow showers

A blizzard at Samuel's Corner during the 1963 Big Freeze makes these Dundee shopfronts hard to see — A blizzard at Samuel’s Corner during the 1963 Big Freeze. Image: DC Thomson.

The region stayed sub-zero for week after week.

It wasn’t until March 6 when there was finally respite and the thaw began.

However, more snow, hail and sharp ground frost returned in April, at the beginning of the Easter holiday, with three inches of the white stuff falling in Dundee.

A winter scene at Easter

Dundee city centre is busy with shoppers during heavy snow. Image: DC Thomson.

On the outskirts of Dundee there was six inches of snow.

Traffic was slowed to a crawl and people began to wonder when it would end.

Thankfully things began to settle down but the bitterly cold and unsparing winter of 1963 is still remembered to this day by many Scots of a certain vintage.