DDiscover AloneMap About A

Balgay Park

Park

Explorer Tom

Balgay Park rises above Dundee as though the city built itself a wooded balcony and then put an observatory on top to make sure the stars received an invitation. Follow the hill paths and you move between big trees, views across the Tay and little reminders that this has been a public breathing space for generations. Dundee City Council describes Balgay Hill's mixture of deciduous and conifer trees and its network of footpaths. The park became public land in the nineteenth century, with Balgay Cemetery developed on part of the hill. The council's woodland guide points to mature beech, oak, ash, sycamore and pine, while a cast iron bridge and older paths add traces of its Victorian design. I came looking for a short walk and the trees started asking for a longer one. Mills Observatory stands near the summit, opened in 1935 with funds left by John Mills, a Dundee manufacturer and keen amateur astronomer. Its presence gives the hill a second view: the city and river by day, and the sky when the observatory has a suitable programme. Do not assume the building is open whenever the park is; check the current observatory timetable separately. The park itself is worth a visit even if the telescope is resting, with paths to the viewpoint. Dundee's published walking route approaches through nearby streets and park entrances and loops past the observatory. Expect slopes and choose a path that suits your legs and the weather. Take care around the cemetery and let its quiet remain quiet. Once you reach the top, look from the Tay to the trees and back again; Balgay gives both earth and sky a fair turn.

What do you know about this place?Tap to add a comment or ask a question

More pictures of this place

Balgay Park — Balgay Park · Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0

Entrance to Balgay Park, Dundee — Entrance to Balgay Park, Dundee · Photo: Douglas Nelson · CC BY-SA 2.0

Trees near summit of Balgay Park — Trees near summit of Balgay Park · Photo: James Allan · CC BY-SA 2.0

Path to Balgay Park — Path to Balgay Park · Photo: Douglas Nelson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original Geograph photograph

Balgay Hill, Mills Observatory — Balgay Hill, Mills Observatory · Photo: Rude Health · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original Geograph photograph

Planet Trail — Planet Trail · Photo: Jim Dewar · CC BY 3.0

What is recorded here

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w135156557

Places near here

Photo credits

Mary Rodgers, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Rude Health, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Richard Webb, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
David Hawgood, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Maker not stated on source page, www.youtube.com
Graham Hogg, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dan, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Maker not stated on source page, www.tripadvisor.com.ph
Maker not stated on source page, www.minube.net
Douglas Nelson, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Mills ObservatoryHeritage attraction · 144 yd

Explorer Tom Mills Observatory gives Dundee something wonderfully unreasonable: a dome on a wooded hill where ordinary visitors can…

Balgay Hill, Mills ObservatoryMountain or hill · 147 yd

Dundee, Balgay Park, FootbridgeFootbridge · 249 yd

Dundee, Western CemeteryFindspot, Food Vessel (bronze Age) · 809 yd

Western CemeteryCemetery · 813 yd

Balgay CemeteryChurch, cross or graveyard · 859 yd

Balgay cemetery, DundeeChurch, cross or graveyard · 878 yd

Western cemetery, DundeeChurch, cross or graveyard · 936 yd

Dundee, Grosvenor Road, Western CemeteryFindspot (19th Century), Findspot (21st Century), Cinerary Urn (bronze Age), Food Vessel (bronze Age), Lithic Implement (flint)(neolithic) · 944 yd

The Mansion, West Park Centre, DundeeOld home or work place · 1025 yd

Dundee, Blackness Avenue, Logie and St John's (cross) Parish ChurchChurch (20th Century) (1911) · 1262 yd

Magdalen GreenPark · 1719 yd

More things to do in Dundee City · All of Dundee City

Add to this placeAdd a picture Add a detailed tip Add a story

Explore the map1,095,414 places to discover

Next place · or swipeMills Observatory