One of Scotland's most famous ships is marking the 30th anniversary of her arrival back to her maiden port of Dundee.

The Royal Research Ship (RRS) Discovery, the first ship built specifically for scientific research into Antarctica, returned to the River Tay on April 3, 1986, after a successful journey to the frozen continent.

She spent two years locked in ice along the Antarctic coastline, allowing explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton to determine that Antarctica was indeed a continent and to relocate the Southern Magnetic Pole.

The last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain, the Discovery remains one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions.

March 16, 1900 - Construction of the Discovery begins by the Dundee Shipbuilders Company along the banks of the Tay.

As a major whaling centre, Dundee's shipyards had a long history of experience of building ships robust enough to travel through the pack ice.

The Discovery was built at a cost of £44,372, equivalent to just over £38m in today's money.

March 21, 1901 - The Discovery is launched into the Firth of Tay. On board were 45 terrified sheep handed over by New Zealand farmers so the crew could eat fresh meat on their journey. As almost every man smoked on the maiden voyage, 1000 lbs of tobacco. The sheep were slaughtered on arrival in the Antarctic and hung from the rigging to freeze.

August 6, 1901 - The Discovery left its berth at the Isle of Wight marking the start of the British National Antarctic Expedition, the first official British exploration of the region in 60 years.

The ship set sail with a hand-picked crew of 49 naval and merchant men, with Captain Robert Falcon Scott leading them and explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton on board.

The trip had commercial sponsorship from brands such as Colmans, which supplied mustard and flour; Cadbury's, which supplied two tonnes of cocoa powder, and Bird's, which supplied custard powder.

January 8, 1902 - After five months at sea, Antarctica was eventually sighted from the crow's nest.

February 8, 1902 - The Discovery is anchored in Winter Quarters Bay in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, where it became frozen into the ice for two years.

It was so cold in Antarctica that some of the officers had to chip ice off their mattresses as they were frozen to the side of the ship.

The crew operated a 'hot bed' system where as soon as one got up another got into a nicely warmed up bed.

1903 - The first Emperor Penguin egg was obtained on the trip to Antarctica as part of the research project, and life for the crew continued to be adventurous.

As naval custom dictated, the men were given their daily ration of rum mixed with water from the 'grog' tub after dinner at 1pm and local wildlife provided extra sustenance. One seal would feed the crew for two days.

February 16, 1904 - After two years in the Antarctic, there was 20 miles of ice between Discovery and the open sea. Two ships were sent to use explosives to blow her free from her icy prison.

September 10, 1904 - The Discovery arrives back in the UK and docks at Portsmouth.

The work carried out by those aboard the ship was truly groundbreaking. More than 500 new kinds of marine animals, spiders, shrimps, star and shellfish were discovered in the Antarctic.

January 1905 - The Discovery expedition was heralded upon its return but it was also in serious financial trouble.

She was sold to Hudson's Bay Company, which used her as a cargo vessel until the First World War, when she began carrying munitions to Russia.

1923 - After the Russian Civil War, the Discovery was chartered by various companies for work in the Atlantic but as she became outdated by more modern merchant vessels she was soon laid up.

In the early 1920s she became the headquarters of the 16th Stepney Sea Scouts, until she was called upon once again to return to sea adventures, this time after a £114,000 refit.

1925-1927 - In 1925, Discovery set sail for the Southern Seas. The expedition's mission was to research whale stocks, the migration pattern of whales and provide a scientific basis for regulation of the whaling industry.

Important scientific breakthroughs were made and the expedition was crucial to our understanding of the whale and saw the beginnings of conservation thinking.

1929-1931 - Discovery's final sea adventure takes place once again in the south, with an expedition of the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Expedition.

The brief was to chart the coastlines, islands, rocks and shoals between Queen Mary Land and Enderby Island and to "plant the British Flag wherever you find it practicable to do so".

Whole new lands were discovered and charted, and a mass of geological and zoological samples were collected, as were several chunks of territory on behalf of the British Government.

1979 - By 1979 Discovery was in a serious state of dilapidation. The first stage of her restoration was funded by a £500,000 grant from the Maritime Trust.

March 28, 1986 - A new home was offered by Dundee Heritage Trust who got the bargain of the century for the ship, paying just £1 to claim her and the Discovery left London aboard the cargo ship, The Happy Mariner, to make the journey back to its birthplace.

April 3, 1986 - On April 3, Discovery finally berthed at Victoria Dock, cheered on by thousands who lined the shores of the River Tay to welcome her home.

Today, Dundee is promoted as "One City, Many Discoveries" in honour of the RRS Discovery and, more than 100 years after leaving the city, the ship sits proudly in the waters she was built in, seen each day by the ancestors of those who brought to her life.