Dundee Two Hills (4.2 miles)
This walk neatly stitches Balgay Hill and The Law into a circular city route. Start at the wonderful McManus Galleries in the city centre which relay the history of Dundee. Admission free. Make your way down Reform Street and left along High Street and Nethergate. Drop into Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) if that's your thing. There is a nice café here. Merge on to Perth Road and pass by The Speedwell Bar - a historic pub which always has real ale on offer and a huge selection of whisky. Turn right up Blackness Avenue which has a fairly steep gradient. This brings us to the corner of Victoria Park. Proceed forward, parallel to Balgay Street.
A sign shows the routes up Balgay Hill. A PDF can be viewed here. The simplest way is directly up The Serpentine Path, which winds it's way up a staircase towards the 500-foot summit. Follow the signs to Mills Observatory which opens to the public in the evenings. The first building of its kind in Britain. Walk back to the plateau marked on the map as Goat Hill. Unfortunately, tree growth inhibits the view of the city below but there are a couple of gaps to peek through. Return in the direction of the Serpentine Steps and look for a grassy track leading down the eastern slope with Dundee's other peak - The Law - standing straight ahead.
Descending this path - known locally as the "Coo Road" - presents lovely views of the River Tay to the right and the norther half of the city to the left. A prominent landmark in the district of Lochee is Cox's Stack, a spectacular 280-feet high chimney which is a reminder of the jute industry which once dominated Dundee. The track segues into Saggar Street which meets City Road. A little Z-bend is then required: Uphill (left) on City Road then right down Tullidelph Road. Turn left at the junction with Lochee Road and cross to meet the path heading all the way up The Law.
The transmitter atop The Law acts as a handy bearing, in fact it's the only thing you see ahead as you begin the climb. A series of steps and flatter sections takes you right to the summit which also hosts a tall war memorial. The view is superb and you can see right across the city in all directions. Descend from the other side. The path joins Law Road, keep heading downhill on to Kinghorne Road and then turn right at the Hilltown which leads sharply down to the city centre via the Wellgate Shopping Centre. A cheap place to eat is Sunny's Indian Buffet on Whitehall Street. For eat-all-you-like Chinese nosh you have Jimmy Chung's literally next door. Now there's a dilemma!
