Cox's Stack

Had some time to kill this morning before dropping Pesky Princess off at School, so with clear blue skies and a golden sunrise i decided we would quickly nip into Lochee and take a picture of Cox's stack as it stood out in the morning sun.

Built in 1866, this is still the tallest chimney in Scotland (282 feet). It was part of Cox's Camperdown Works in Lochee area of Dundee, which at one point was the largest Jute factory in the world, spread across 35 acres.

The mill closed in 1981 and quickly went to ruin. I went to High School nearby and it wasn't uncommon to take a shortcut through the site, or have a poke around at lunchtime or hometime.

When the site was getting cleared, some of my friends found their way into the tunnels that fed the stack and managed to get inside and climb up the ladder. One of them swore blindly that he climbed right to the top and sat on the edge (everyone else that was there backed up his story). He's dead now, so it's a legendary tale that can't be questioned further. He was certainly black enough afterwards to be believed!

There are little reflectors on the top that are remnants from a laser show. I can't remember if it was from 1990 to mark Dundees 800th anniversary, or from the opening of the Venue nightclub in the redeveloped park. I do remember that it was very spectacular though.

Other than turning some of the remaining mill into housing, the redevelopment was a failure. Only the bowling and bingo are left open. Even Tesco's deserted the place.

Due to vandalism the gates to the gardens around the Lum are locked so this was the closest shot i could get. I might go back sometime to climb over the fence and get closer and sharper images. Had Pesky P with me so had to set a good example :(

Some historical shots are available here.

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