HYDERABAD: After a pleasant 90-minute train journey from Edinburgh, we reached Dundee; a compact city situated spectacularly on the northern coast of the Tay Estuary, dominated by the volcanic plug, The Dundee Law. The city has a dramatic skyline, which represents its industrial past, its Victorian civic ambitions and its more recent cultural regeneration. Dundee has been a focal point for creativity, design and innovation for many years and was recently designated as UNESCO City of Design, in recognition of its international contribution to computer game design, medical research and comic book design.
We checked into the newly opened ‘Hotel Indigo Dundee’ that brings the city’s jute spinning past back to life with its design. Set in a former textile mill with a landmark bell tower, the hotel reflects its industrial heritage with bare-brick walls, hardwood timber floors and simple, pendant lighting: bespoke fabrics and antique furnishings in the rooms disclose the city’s historic linen trade. Being Scotland’s only south-facing city, the city receives more sunshine and is nicknamed “Sunny Dundee”. We all wore yellow sunglasses to enjoy this golden sunshine during a two-hour walking tour with “Behind the Scenes Dundee”.
It covered four cultural locations with talks, tours and behind the scenes insights at each, giving a snapshot of the city’s creative life, taking in a mixture of public institutions and creative workspaces. At Dundee Rep theatre a visit to the costume department and theatre workshop threw light on how productions are created. The McManus Museum located in the centre of the city took me totally by surprise: the Gothic Revival-style building looks like a church from outside but houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of fine and decorative art as well as a natural history collection.
The next day, after a hearty breakfast, we set out to the nearby “Hospitalfield” (30 minutes drive), a 19th century Arts & Crafts Country House set in a beautiful walled garden in Arbroath overlooking the North Sea.
The North Sea is said to have brought ideas and trade over the centuries to the east coast of Scotland while the landscape has long inspired artists, writers, poets and more. Arbroath with its dramatic cliffs, white beaches, wind, sun, and famous soft fruit and smoked fish is a place of much promise. Smokies did indeed greet us at the entrance of Hospitalfield: their chef demonstrated how the famous Arbroath mackerel haddock is smoked. Amidst video recordings and selfies, the chef smoked dozens of them, which later adorned our breakfast tables: that day we had two breakfasts, the second one, a delicious and generous spread hosted by the Hospitalfield staff.
Hospitalfield boasts a rich cultural and social history that spans hundreds of years: once a hospital that supported Arbroath Abbey it became the project of artist Patrick Allan-Fraser and his wife Elizabeth. During 1843 and 1890 they realised their alluring and highly crafted architectural dream, on the site of the 12th-century Benedictine monastery. The couple accumulated an outstanding collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and land. On Patrick’s death in 1890 the estate was left in trust as a place of learning for artists. In 1902 Hospitalfield became one of Scotland’s first Art Schools and became a meeting point for many generations of artists, teachers and art students from across Scotland.
Now a charitable trust, Hospitalfield runs an international programme of residencies for contemporary artists providing a wonderful setting to bring people together to develop new ideas and new work. The resident artists are paid a stipend for the one month of their stay; they can work in the beautiful space at their own pace and are free to take home their work. I met a beaming Marie Jacotey (from France) at the breakfast table, one of the ten resident artists hosted by the Hospital Field presently. Amin Sandhu (who pronounced his name with such a funny twist that it took me few seconds to figure out what it originally was), a “Punjab da puttar”, a second/ third generation immigrant Indian from Canada; he told me how he got into the residency, and then I realised that not everyone has a commitment/serious understanding of art.
On the way back, we stopped at the seaside town of Broughty Ferry that has a spectacular golden sand beach and a historic fortress castle, dating back to 1495. Had a fabulous lunch at ‘The Tayberry’, a fine-dining restaurant where the young award-winning chef Adam Newth serves contemporary Scottish food with scenic views of the sea as complementaries. In each course, the visual appeal of the food matched the taste: the fennel soup was a great hit. The chef appeared at the end of the meal and revealed the secret: celeriac, roasted fennel seeds, Madras curry powder and spices make this fennel soup, turmeric giving the deliciously creamy yellow layer on the top.
After that scrumptious meal, I left for my hotel in a cab to catch some lost sleep, leaving others to fight it out in the rain for a boat ride and a “dekho” at the castle.