Dundee puts on Summer.

46.9 Miles. Now at Balbirnie Park Caravan Club site at Markinch.

We had an inkling that today was going to be a scorcher while we were breaking camp this morning. Clear blue sky and the temperature was rising quite rapidly even at 9am. The Garmin had been set for Discovery Centre, Dundee but upon arrival in the city it seemed to have trouble sending us in the right direction. A quick change of plans to locate the Tesco’s supermarket and the problem was solved. As we pulled into the Tesco car park alongside the River Tay we could see the mast’s of the “Discovery” about half a mile further ahead.

Chimney sweep's dream or nightmare. Total of 61 chimney's.

The famous Tay Railway Bridge undergoing a major refurbishment.

We did some shopping in Tesco’s and then took a walk along the river side promenade back to the famous Tay Railway Bridge. We were a bit cheeky in leaving the Motorhome in the car park but being Sunday there was plenty of room for all concerned and we are regular Tesco customers after all said and done.

River Tay Road Bridge.

Dundee Tay Bridge.

We struck lucky with the bridge as we caught a couple of trains passing over it at greatly reduced speed due to a major overhaul taking place along the bridge’s length. Dot was amazed at how such a structure could have been built in the 1870’s without modern day equipment. After a reasonably lengthy walk to the bridge and back again, we drove on towards the “Discovery” only to encounter the usual parking hassles. We followed the signs to the coach park which were a bit hit and miss, leading us into a car park where there was nowhere suitable. We then spotted the coach park on the other side of a building and managed to manoeuvre ourselves around there. I stayed on board while Dot went off to survey the situation. Eventually after some quick photo’s of the “Discovery” we pushed on over the new Tay Road Bridge towards our new camp site location. In the meantime the temperature had continued to rise and we were pleased to find the camp is nicely shaded with trees.

Dundee Tay Bridge.

Royal Research ship Discovery at Dundee. Famous for Antarctic research voyages in 1903. Back where she was built.

As we pulled into the camp at approximately 2pm the warden’s wife came out of her caravan telling us they were closed until 4pm. She did allow us entry telling us to find a site and come back after 4pm. This we did, only finding one suitable site large enough for us which we naturally parked on. After lunch we walked into town for a look around and to stretch our legs. Upon return to camp we found a car and caravan parked on the driveway in front of us and took no notice. The warden then arrived on the scene requesting our name and how long we were staying. It turned out that the pitch we were on had been booked as a seasonal pitch by the owner of the caravan and should have been marked off by the warden. Eventually the caravan owner opted to take another pitch until we leave and then he will take possession.

Discovery Centre, Dundee.

Demure Penguins at the Discovery Centre, Dundee.

It seems that there is a lack of communication between Head Office who take the bookings and the camp wardens when vehicles of larger than usual dimensions are booked into a camp. We have only once arrived at a camp to find a pitch set aside for us but plenty where no organisation has taken place and we have had to sort it out ourselves. An email to Head Office may be required to be drafted once our tour is completed at the end of the month.

A total of 3656 miles, since 5 March 2011