Blind Bob’s courtroom capers

If you’ve been on our Worst of the Worthies tour, you will already have been introduced to one of Dundee’s worthies in the form of Blind Bob, who was a poor soul, originally having hailed from Aberdeen but had lost everything he ever cherished over the years and fell into a spiral of alcoholism and […]

Photo of Dundee Sheriff Court,

The Broker and the Auctioneer

In 1870, Margaret Murphy ended up in Dundee Police Court after throwing a bucket of dirty water over an auctioneer who kept turning up at her shop asking for money, then allegedly taking a swing at him with a poker when he still wouldnae leave. The best part is half the courtroom could barely keep a […]

The Other Woman!

On Friday 13th March 1914, Agnes Culley, resident at 248 Hilltown, Dundee, took her husband of 24 years to Court for an action of separation and aliment at the rate of 6s per week. Her husband, James Culley, who was resident at 10 Isla Street in Dundee did not appear and was not defended. Agnes […]

An Unhappy Honeymoon

On Friday 7th June 1878, The Dundee Evening Telegraph reported on a man from whom, they felt, had fallen foul of a hasty marriage: “A HASTY MARRIAGE AND ITS RESULTS. AN UNHAPPY HONEYMOON. A young man named William Ballantyne, described as a chemist or commercial traveller, residing in Thorter Row, Dundee, was brought before Baillie […]

The Ferry Files – Left alone

Saturday 23rd September 1893 had been a beautiful day, warm but not too warm; a great day to sit out in the garden all afternoon, which is exactly what Mrs Tolmie had been doing with her 7-year-old daughter, Bella at their home at Links Cottages, Broughty Ferry. Mr Tolmie, a gardener, had been away all […]

The Ferry Files – Candle, candle, burning bright

It was later in the morning, around 11am on Saturday 23rd September 1898, when some of the residents became alarmed at the very strong smell of smoke. It became apparent to them very quickly that the smoke was coming from the home of 82-year-old Mary Groat. Mary had lived in the property with her younger […]

The Ferry Files – Eye, Eye

Thomas Fenton, a spirit dealer from Broughty Ferry, seemed to have it all. At 40 years of age, he had a successful business, was one year into his marriage to the love of his life and lived with her in their lovely wee house on Fort Street, Broughty Ferry. In the autumn of 1881, after […]

The Ferry Files – A Frozen Christmas

Retiree John Crow and his wife Annie were enjoying a day at home on 25th December 1878, when John decided that he was going to go out for a walk. His wife insisted he stay at home, as the weather was awful and it was already dark outside despite it being only 3pm. Now, before […]

Free Prize Draw for Autumn Bookings

Win Big with DD Tours: Free Prize Draw for Autumn Bookings! Here’s a wee bonus to make your journey into Dundee’s dark history even more exciting! From September to November 2024, every person who books one of our walking tours will be automatically entered into our FREE prize draw. You could win up to £100 […]

Free prize draw

We’ve just launched a new, completely free prize draw which will be running over the next 3 months, book any walking tour running between 1st September and 30th November 2024, and on 1st December we’ll draw 3 lucky winners Our first prize draw will win 5x £20 gift vouchers, 2nd draw wins 3 x £20 […]