The Dundee Dragon

Amongst the playful statues of comic book characters on Dundee’s shopping streets stands a much more menacing figure. A ferocious dragon that once cast a dark shadow over the Angus countryside.

Its presence wasn’t obvious at first, but locals could tell something had changed. They could feel it in the air. Livestock started going missing at an alarming rate and locals reported strange, distant noises in the night.

Unaware of any danger, a farmer from Pitempton sent one of his nine daughters to fetch water from a nearby well. Time passed and the farmer assumed she had been distracted somehow, so sent her sister to finish the task. Still neither had returned but being a busy man, he didn’t have time to go looking himself. One by one, his nine daughters all disappeared while searching for their sisters.

Eventually the farmer realised something was wrong and he went to the well himself, looking for his family. There he witnessed a horrific site. The girls had all been killed by a terrifying dragon and the farmer was lucky to escape with his own life. He ran to the centre of Dundee, shouting and screaming about what had happened.

Martin, the town's blacksmith heard the commotion and was heartbroken at the news. He had been betrothed to the farmer's eldest daughter, but he wasn’t going to waste any time grieving. Somebody had to teach this monster a lesson. The blacksmith picked up a freshly forged sword and strode off towards the dragon's lair.

Martin fought the beast with all his fury and the dragon had met its match. Realising it couldn’t win, the creature tried to flee across the hills, but the blacksmith chased close behind. A crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle and as he clashed with the monster, they shouted "Strike Martin!" With a great thrust of his sword, Martin pierced the dragon's heart. It staggered around before laying its head on a rock to die.

The legend claims that rock is now the carved Martin’s Stone while Strathmartine derives from the shouts of Strike Martin. Other place names hint towards the story, such as Pitempton Road and Baldragon Wood but it’s the prominent statue of the Dundee Dragon that ensures the story will live on.