Exploring Broughty Ferry, Scotland, A Drive Through.

Broughty Ferry is a community of some 10,000 households with a current population of over 19,000 people located within the city of Dundee on the north bank of the River Tay. It was recognised as a separate borough until 1913 when it was incorporated into the city of Dundee. The suffix ferry was applied at the introduction of the regular ferry crossing to Fife in the 19th century but the name endured beyond the closure of the ferry and did not revert to its previous form of simply Broughty. Built in 1498 the castle was restored during the 19th century and now houses a museum featuring displays on Dundee's maritime history. At the beginning of the 19th century Charles Hunter had plans drawn up on a gridiron pattern to develop Broughty Ferry north and east of a small area around Gray Street populated by fisher folk. Fort Abercourt Street and St. Vincent Street were named after sea battles won during the Napoleonic Wars. Communication with Dundee was maintained by a coach service which ran three times a day. There was also a regular steamboat service with special trips on a Sunday for bathers and day trippers. In 1838 the Dundee and Arbroath Railway opened and encouraged those who could afford it to leave the grime and dirt of Dundee for the clean healthy air of the ferry. Many fine villas were erected by due industrialists from Dundee and Broughty Ferry had more millionaires to the square mile than any town of its size in Britain. As a result Broughty Ferry was referred to at the time as the richest square mile in Europe. At the peak of the local fishing industry in the 1880s there was a hundred and eighty fishing boats based in Broughty Ferry. Broughty Ferry's fame as a holiday resort spread and by the end of the Victorian period visitors flocked to the town for their annual holiday not only from Dundee but also from Edinburgh and the Glasgow areas. In the Brighton of the North visitors could enjoy pleasure boats, bathing machines, brass bands playing and minstrel and clown shows. During the 1880s commuter trains to Dundee ran every hour. The Dundee Broughty Ferry and District Tramways Company opened in the area from 1905 thus increasing cheap travel opportunities for the people of Dundee. On one day the 14th of June 1912 some 2,200 people out of 2,674 voters travelled to work in Dundee on the train service. In the past hundred years Broughty Ferry has shared in the political, administrative, social and economic changes which have transformed Dundee as the city has moved forward from an industrial past to lay the foundations of a post-industrial future. However by the mid 20th century Broughty Ferry will still have been readily recognisable to a person who last visited some 50 years before. Broughty Ferry has evolved rapidly to keep up with the times while retaining its own distinctive character. The centre of Broughty Ferry remains an area of mixed use and accommodates the thriving retail, commercial and service core as well as a high-density housing of various tenures. To the north is a large area of private housing which was developed in the late 20th century and which because of its popularity has been recently considerably extended into predominantly rural surroundings. Last but not least there is a strip of land which stretches from the Stanar Gate along to the Dichty Burn with the castle and green at its heart. This accommodates such attractions such as the award-winning Broughty Ferry Beach and the Barnhill Rock Garden all of which maintain Broughty Ferry's reputation as a destination for tourists and day visitors.