Broughty Ferry

Broughty Ferry (Brochtie in Scots) is a suburb on the eastern edge of the City of Dundee, situated on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland. "The Ferry" was formerly an independent burgh from 1864 until it was absorbed into the Royal burgh of Dundee in 1913.

Although some of its residents would prefer still to consider Broughty Ferry a separate town, it is — following post-war urban expansion — de facto a suburb of Dundee, and takes local government administration from the city.

Broughty Ferry is a prosperous town with many pubs and restaurants. The recently-renovated park at the beach includes a number of children's facilities, such as crazy golf and kiddies go-karts. It has an Italian cafe, Vissochi's which is locally renowed for its ice creams. On New Year's Day there is a local tradition of swimming between the piers of the harbour.

The name probably derives from Bruach Tatha meaning "Taybank" in Scottish Gaelic. Broughty Castle (1496) still stands on a shallow tip projecting into the Firth, and there are two beaches, one of sand, the other of pebbles. A piece of folk etymology holds that the name derives from the Lowland Scots broch, meaning some form of fortification, with the 'ty' being a shortening of the name of the River Tay, and Ferry being added later in recognition of the town's role as a ferry port. However, this is unlikely, as the word order would probably be "Tay Broch", rather than "Broch Tay".