Belmont Camp

Belmont Estate was gifted to Dundee Corporation in 1916 following the death of its then owner, Dundee jute manufacturer and generous civic benefactor Sir James Caird.

The stated intention was that the castle serve as a rest home for soldiers returning from war, and that the surrounding grounds be used for the general benefit of Dundee’s citizens. In practice there was some flexibility in how this was realised: the castle was leased to the Church of Scotland, who used it as an eventide home. 

With the future of Belmont Castle assured, Dundee Corporation turned its attention to the wider estate. In 1941, 33 acres were leased for 100 years to the Scottish Special Housing Association to create a children’s holiday camp. Belmont Camp School was established to offer up to 240 urban children at a time the chance of an educational holiday in the countryside. 

Belmont was one of five residential camp schools founded under the Camps Act of 1939, intended mainly for use by education authorities but also open to youth and adult organisations. The camp consisted of wooden huts: five served as dormitories with classrooms attached, while others housed the dining hall, assembly hall, recreation rooms and a toilet block. The intention was to promote physical as well as educational wellbeing; the grounds were laid out with playing fields, playground equipment and a pitch and putt course, and the children explored woodland paths that threaded through trees planted by James Stuart Mackenzie in the 1700s. 

Teachers accompanied their school groups and were supported by camp staff and college students. Mornings were devoted to English and Arithmetic, while afternoons were spent outdoors whenever possible, learning about wildlife, farming and local history. Many of the children came from urban districts, often from overcrowded and unhealthy environments, and in the early years every child underwent a medical examination before arrival. Camp rules stated firmly that group leaders were responsible for “the detecting and cleaning of any verminous children”, and staff inspected mattresses each morning - a stark reminder of the conditions from which many of the campers had come. 

After eight decades of use, the camp has evolved into the Belmont Centre, a modern facility run by the Scottish Special Housing Association's successor body, Scottish Outdoor Education Centres. Its capacity is now around 50 in a single accommodation block, and formal classroom teaching is no longer part of its remit. In place of academic subjects, the emphasis is on environmental and outdoor education: nature walks, activities in the woods and fields, and team-building exercises such as archery, climbing and orienteering. The lease has been extended to 2114, ensuring that this corner of the estate continues to have a clear purpose. 

Across Tayside, Belmont is remembered with affection, first as the original camp school and now as an outdoor centre. Several generations of children have passed through its huts and along its paths, and the estate still plays a quiet but significant part in shaping their experience of the countryside.