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Dundee in General
by JaymesS
Since moving here from Belfast in 2007, I'd say I've grown to feel at home in Dundee. I would still say I prefer Belfast but Dundee's a grand wee place too. The main criticisms I have about it are vandalism and dangerous drug takers or "jakies/gadgies" as they say locally. I live in the Lochee area so I know about this. I am a ... grown man of 19 and I have on more than one occasion felt "watched" as I was coming along the street after 8pm. The number of young people smoking is extraordinary. The number of very young mums (about 15 I'd say) is pretty common here. In Belfast it's kinda similar but I have to say you really notice it in Dundee. For a small city Dundee has a lot of homeless people and a huge drug problem. I see a lot of "winos" hanging about Lochee high street (the rare times I go there!)
Also I think that the Wellgate center is a sorry state of a shopping mall. The only decent shop is BHS. There was a music shop which I liked but like most shops in the Wellgate, it shut down!
And don't even get me STARTED on the Stack! The only thing there now is the Gala bingo center, and until recently, the Megabowl, which shut down, presumably due to lack of business. I live not too far from there and I hate thinking about that Megabowl, Busters diner, Buzz Bar, Odeon, Fatty Arbuckles and the poor Tesco just sitting there all dilapidated!!! I would be very happy if someone bought over even just one of the places there and either renovated one of the diners or reopened the once popular Odeon cinema! That would not only be handy, but it would attract business!
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Isle of Gigha (Scotland)
by xxBeccaxx
A group of people who I was doing an open university course with became pretty close and we decided to have a road trip. One of the girls lived on this island and suggested we have our meet there. I have never been into travelling, probably because of my age and other commitments but I was so excited to be going along and exploring a new ... place.
Before going I looked at the website which gives you idea's of activities, places to stay and things to do. There are lso pictures provided but unless you go yourself you cannot understand just how beautiful the views are.
Firstly The Isle Of Gigha (pronounced Gee-a) is a hebridean island that is situated around 3 hours drive from Glasgow. There is a bus available for travelling to it but I can't say I would enjoy not having the freedom to stop and take pictures of the gorgeous scenery on the way there. The main part of the drive is driving round a gorgeous loch which has stunning picture opportunities. If you have the chance to get down near the water and experience the full potential of the loch then do so as it is truly stunning!
You do have to get a ferry from the mainland at Tayinloan over to the island. The ferry's run every hour on the hour and are run by Caledonian Macbrayne and cost around £3.25 for a foot passenger and £12 odds for a car. These are only one way but returns can be purchased. Once aboard the ferry you are able to go to the top deck to experience the beautiful scenery on offer. With the journey taking around 20 minutes there is plenty time to take as many pictures as you want.
On arrival at Gigha you can either go to your destination be it a campsite, persons home or hotel or you can roam the island. There is only 1 road so it's impossible to get lost. The scenery is breathtaking, with hiking, cycling and boating opportunities you can get around very easily. There are a couple of little shops, 1 selling general groceries and another that sells handmade jewellery at reasonable prices. A church and farms are also on the island along with some houses, a school, soctors surgery and fire station but there is not much else.
There are beautiful gardens that you can roam along with a hall that enables you to hold parties and weddings in. With beautiful photo opportunities you would be really lucky to get married here.
It was pretty warm the full time we were there, despite there being rain on and off the full weekend. Generally it seems that the weather is majority warm and comfortable.
Everyone is really friendly and happy to help out with directions, the best spots for pretty pictures and stunning scenery. It really is perfection. The beaches are quiet but white and sandy. Who needs spain when you have an island as gorgeous as this basically on the doorstep. This is a very special place and I will be visiting for a long time to come.
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Stirling (Scotland)
by JLo14
On my way---
We had booked a B&B for our two nights stay. So once we had left the train, we got into a taxi, which took us to our B&B. The taxi cost just £2.70, which as you can tell the B&B was not all that far away. But our reason for getting the taxi was so we could easily suss out our way around the town.
... The B&B we stayed at was called the Linden Guest house. I personally cannot fault this accommodation. Everything was to a high standard and the service was wonderful. But I am not going to say much else about this B&B, I may just leave that for another review!
Things to do and see----
After settling in to our rooms and unpacking. I had a look at one of the Stirling Tourist booklet that were left in our room. Glancing through it a couple of attractions caught me eye and I knew that my friend and I had to visit them before we left Stirling!
The first was the Stirling's Old Town jail. I am one of these people who, when visiting a new town or city, must find out some history and information about the place. As we began to walk, following the map we had found in the tourist booklet, we started to realise that we were lost. Nothing is ever a simple as it looks on a map, that's for sure! So we did what any good tourist should when they are lost... go to the place that is built for them... The Tourist Information Centre! One of the desks inside was for directions and the others was a sales desk for anything you wanted to purchase. The Tourist Information Centre sold everything you could imagine with Scotland or Stirling written in it. About half an hour later my friend and I emerged, with directions to the Old Town Jail and two bags full of souvenirs!
We arrived at the Old Town jail just in time for the last tour of the day, as they close at 5 o' clock. I think that because it was the last tour, is wasn't busy at all. Taking the tour was myself and my friend and three other German tourists. I found the tour of the jail very interesting and it was made very enjoyable by the staff who take you round as they are dressed as they would have been many years ago! I think that you couldn't visit Stirling without seeing that old town jail. Below is the ticket prices for the tours and also a link to their website to find out more about the Old Town jail.
ADMISSION PRICES 2010
Adult £6.50
Concessions (Seniors/Students) £5.00
Child (Ages 5 to 16) £4.00
Family Tickets (1 adult & up to 3 child) £14.50
Family Tickets (2 adults & 2 child) £17.00
Groups & Parties (Min. 10 visitors)10% off
School Groups £3.50(*)
http://www.oldtownjail.com/index.html
The next place we visited was Stirling Castle. Now I have to say that my friends and I were not that interested in actually going inside that Castle. But we did take a walk up to it and I found it very interesting to just even see it. You can also get brilliant pictures from around the castle grounds. To get to the Castle, you keep on walking up the path past the Old Town jail.
As my friend and I were heading down from the castle on the Saturday, we decided to go a different way than we went on the way to the Castle. I am so glad we did this, because we came across The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum. This attraction is very easy to find one a map and is defiantly worth visiting. The Gallery & Museum is admission is free, which is a nice surprise as I am used to having to pay into places like this! But on the way out of the museum, there is a big pig machine that you can make donation into. Because my friend and I enjoyed the museum, we both put in a couple of pounds, after all the money people donate is what keeps it free for other visitors!
The museum is full of interesting paintings and exhibition, but what i found most interesting was the section on Stirling history. For any visitor/tourist this would be useful to go and have a look. There is also a cafe inside the museum, but I did find it to be rather expensive, but you have to remember that the money you spend in there is all the money you will need to spend,going to the museum!
Opening Times
Tuesday - Saturday 10.30am - 5pm
Sunday 2 - 5pm
Where to eat---
Now just like any other place Stirling has a KFC and other fast food chain restaurants. We did go to the local KFC for lunch one of the days because it was very close to us and we didn't want to waste the day finding somewhere to eat.
The B&B we had booked, included breakfast in it's price, so we only had to find places to eat for lunch and dinner. After walking around from the Castle, hungry and tired,we found a nice Chinese restaurant called the Golden Crown. I really enjoyed my meal here and fond the food was very reasonably priced. I think that it depends on what king budget you are, because our money was quite tight, so after seeing some of the restaurant prices around town,we decided that some small cafe and Chinese restaurants we perfect.
Overall???---
I would have to say that Stirling is a lovely place and I would not hesitate to visit again. There are some other places that I didn't get to see and maybe next year my friend and I could go again. The transport getting to Stirling, I would have to say was the more expensive part of the trip. But you have to get there some way...! By the end of our trip my friend and I both agreed that we felt at home in Stirling because of the lovely, friendly people of Stirling!
Useful to know, before you go!----
What I would suggest before going to Stirling is to find out all the information about the transport. This is a website that I used to help me find directions before I went.
Wear warm clothes! This really applies of you go in the autumn or winter. We went in October and even though it didn't rain, it was very cold. Yes, it was much, much colder than Northern Ireland , which I did not enjoy!
My friend and I were both 18 at the time of travelling and we are both female. So obvious safety rules apply when travelling in a place that you are not familiar with. Do have a look online, many people have blogs about travelling alone or even safety tips in general!
*Review may also be found on other travel websites, under the names jennyNI18 or Jenny18*
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