Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle

Ten fascinating facts about… Dundee and Angus

July 29, 2019 / Kenny Smith /
July 29, 2019 |

Dundee has become one of the most cool and attractive cities in the UK in the past year.

The opening of the V&A Dundee has given it a new cultural vibe, bringing visitors from all over the world to the shores of the River Tay.

Here we present 10 fascinating facts which you may not know about Dundee and Angus.

Dundee is called the ‘City of Discovery’ but was known as the city of ‘jute, jam and journalism’ in its industrial heyday.

In 1545 Dundee became a walled city, much of which was destroyed by an English naval bombardment in 1547.

The Bell Rock lighthouse, which was built 11 miles off the coast of Angus between 1807 and 1810, is the world’s oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse.

William Topaz McGonagall, regarded by many as the worst poet in the English language, was born and lived in Dundee.

Dundee is home to DC Thomson & Co, publisher of the Beano, Dandy and People’s Friend.

Glamis Castle

Glamis Castle, in Angus, was the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who was later known as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

The oldest family name in Scotland, Ogilvie, has its origins in the Angus glens.

There are over 50 golf courses within an hour’s drive from Dundee, including the championship course at Carnoustie, which first hosted The Open in 1931.

It is claimed that the adhesive postage stamp was invented by James Chalmers, who was born in Arbroath in 1782.

Angus was the location for the Battle of Dunnichen between the Picts and Northumbrians, which effectively allowed the creation of Scotland.

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