Dunedin, a city in Pinellas County, is named for Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The population was 35,321 at the 2010 census.
The city is home to several beaches, including Dunedin Causeway, Honeymoon Island, and Caladesi Island State Park, which is consistently rated among the best beaches in the world. Dunedin is one of the few open waterfront communities from Sarasota to Cedar Key where buildings do not completely obscure the view of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico.
The downtown business district is notable for its absence of large commercial signage, corporate franchise restaurants or chain retail stores. The Pinellas Trail, a 39-mile-long bicycle and pedestrian trail that traverses all of Pinellas County, bisects downtown Dunedin.
Since 1977, Dunedin has been the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the class-A Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League. Dunedin is one of the smallest communities used by Major League spring training teams.
Dunedin has many neighborhoods, including:
- Osprey Place
- Stirling Heights
- Spanish Acres
- Spanish Place
- Lake Haven
- Virginia Crossing
- Waterford Crossing
- Fairway Estates
- Curlew Landings
- New Athens City
- Lake Highlander
- Weathersfield
- Dunedin Mobile Manor
- Spring Lakes
- Spring Lake South
- Golden Acres
- Ranchwood Estates
- Amberlea
Pinellas County Schools operates the public school system. Within the city limits of Dunedin, there are four public elementary schools, one middle school and one high school
Sister city to Stirling, Scotland, Dunedin has maintained and embraced its Scottish roots. Once a year, Scottish clans descend upon the city for the Dunedin Highland Games. Both Dunedin High School and Dunedin Highland Middle School have competition-level pipe and drum bands. The high school's marching band is known as the Scottish Highlander Band, and both teen and adult members make up the City of Dunedin Pipe Band.
In addition to the Highland Games, Dunedin hosts many other annual festivals. The most popular among these is Dunedin's Mardi Gras celebration, during which thousands of visitors descend on the small town.
Photo: Ebyabe [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]
