Scotland & Dundee
Scotland
Famous for its rugged landscape and wide open spaces, as well as its music, dancing, whisky and unusual cuisine, Scotland is a major tourist destination and one of the most attractive parts of the U.K. to travel to or reside in.
Its dramatic natural history is evident from its landscape, which experienced extensive glaciation during the Pleistocene ice ages. Scotland is a haven for naturalists and offers some of the best walking in the U.K., thanks to its numerous mountains and lochs and its abundant wildlife and flora.
Scotland's social history is a fascinating one, marked by colonisation and resistance to colonisation beginning with the Roman occupation in 83/4 A.D. English dominance was famously opposed by William Wallace and others during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and the subject of whether Scotland should be independent from the rest of the U.K. remains an important and contentious topic to this day.
The country retains a lively sense of its own distinctive cultural and national identity, reflected in the thriving arts scene in Scottish cities as well as the reinvigoration of traditional textile crafts in Scotland's rural communities. The recently completed Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh is a testament to Scotland's pride in its national identity.
Football (soccer) is something of a national pastime, and individual regions have local clubs which enjoy enthusiastic support. Scotland is also, of course, a Mecca for golfers, and offers a variety of links and parkland courses, including historic courses at St Andrews (home of golf) and Carnoustie (venue for the 2007 Open Championship).
Scotland has a great literary tradition but nowadays is perhaps best known for its distinctive crime fiction, sometimes called 'Tartan Noir'. Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus novels, set in Edinburgh, are a good example of this genre. Other famous Scottish writers include James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Muriel Spark, Irvine Welsh, Alexander McCall Smith, and the poets Robert Burns, Tom Leonard, Hugh MacDiarmid and Jackie Kay.
Scottish & Dundee Weather
September is usually a radiant month in Scotland. Although Dundee is Scotland's sunniest city, it would be a good idea to consult a weather forecast before the conference. To do so please visit the BBC Weather pages.
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland, with a population of 143,090. Located on the north bank of the River Tay's estuary, it has a spectacular waterfront location famously celebrated in the poems of William McGonagall. It is known as the City of Discovery, both in honour of Dundee's history of scientific activities, and of the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration vessel, which was built in Dundee and is now berthed there. Recently, Dundee has reinvented itself as a vibrant and culturally spirited city, and offers a range of leisure and educational activities for delegates and their companions.
Dundee Culture and Leisure
The pedestrianised city centre features a variety of shops and restaurants. For those who enjoy the arts, there is the Dundee Repertory Theatre, acclaimed for its theatre and dance performances. The Dundee Contemporary Arts centre, also close to the Conference venue, is home to an art gallery and a cinema.
The waterfront area offers a number of restaurants and visitor attractions, including the Sensation science centre and Discovery Point, where visitors can tour the RRS Discovery and learn about its history. At Verdant Works visitors can learn about the history of the jute industry.
Dundee History and Economy
The history of Dundee (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Dèagh)-originally called Alectum-began with the Picts in the Iron Age. During the Industrial Revolution Dundee gained a reputation for its marmalade, journalism, and jute industries, and came to be known as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".
Today Dundee's economy is buoyed by biomedical and technological industries, in which the University of Dundee plays an important role. The city is also well known for its leadership of Britain's digital entertainment and computer games industry.
Our thanks to Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau for the use of some of their text above.
Links to other sites
- Scotland's National Tourist Board
- Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau
- Dundee Rep Theatre
- Dundee Contemporary Arts
- Discovery Point and Verdant Works
- Golf Scotland