Ferries across the Tay

Three Thousand Years of Transport across the Tay Although the fares that the ferrymen could charge were regulated, the ferries themselves were not and ran haphazardly both in timing and in safety. This was all to change after the morning of Sunday 28th May 1815 when a pinnace (a small rowing and sail boat), overloaded …

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Broughty Castle

Fortress Guarding the Tay Broughty Castle has defended the entrance of the Tay for over 500 years, has been involved with Russia once, France twice, and two monarchs who lost their heads (Mary Queen of Scots and King Charles I). It was mirrored across the Tay by a Z-plan castle at Tayport which would have …

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Dundee Airport

Dundee Riverside Airport The River Tay Estuary has had a long-standing aviation history. The Royal Naval Air Service first opened a seaplane base at Stannergate, Dundee in 1914 to patrol the East coast of Scotland. The base operated until 1919 and was re-activated between 1940-44. In 1938 the Short Mayo composite aircraft, “Maia-Mercury” (a seaplane …

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Wildlife on the Tay

The River near Perth Birds In spring and summer, the Tay is home to Sand Martins which nest in holes in the walls of the riverbank, busily darting around in search of insects. Grey Wagtails can be glimpsed on the riverbank. Dippers are small dumpy birds, with a characteristic bobbing movement, commonly seen around the …

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Tay Road Bridge

Feature image courtesy of Gareth James. Opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 18th August 1966, the Tay Road Bridge crosses the Tay estuary linking Newport in north east Fife with the City of Dundee. Designed by William Fairhurst and built by the Muir of Ord-based construction company Duncan Logan Ltd (Contractors), the bridge …

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Romans on the Tay

Eighteen hundred years ago the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus would have been a magnificent and terrifying sight as he sailed down on the River Tay. Born in Libya, in North Africa, he found Scotland cold and wet, as did his troops who moaned about the weather, particularly “the water”. In 208 Severus travelled to Britain, …

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SS Dalhousie

The wreck of the steamer Dalhousie The story of the River Tay’s worst recorded shipwreck began late on the evening of a storm-lashed Thursday, 24 November 1864. The Dundee-bound steamer London was crossing St Andrews Bay when her crew spotted a blue light, then a recognised distress signal, among the breakers off Tentsmuir. A strong …

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Improving Lives Tay’gether: modern day surroundings

The Tay is the United Kingdom’s greatest river in terms of outflow. Rising on the slopes of Ben Lui, it finally reaches the open sea east of Buddon Ness and Tentsmuir Point. It gives rise to a wealth of contemporary buildings and other features, all of which depend to some extent on the river and its immediate surroundings.