Dundee Photo Walks

26/06/2025

A sneak peak at a new artwork in Dundee
What does Dundee have in common with South Georgia?
Whaling, and you can find out all about it at Whale of a Weekend
Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th of June
This artwork called Commensalis was created by Scottish artist Michael Visocchi* and is made of Corten steel and recycled rivets from the Stromness whaling Station. Each rivet represents 50 whales in remembrance of the 175,000 whales captured at South Georgia between 1905 and 1965.

This artwork will be on display outside the V&A for the weekend before it heads to South Georgia to be part of a whaling memorial. Please note the artwork is currently wrapped up but I think it will be on display noon on Thursday.

It will be a new stop on the Dundee Engineering Tour on Saturday 28th of June 3.30 - 4.45 pm

There are lots of events at the V&A and Discovery Point some need to be booked and others you can drop in full details in this pdf
https://sght.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/WOAW-Programme-2025.pdf

In case you are wondering about the viewpoints photos 2 and 3 are from James Thomson House.

* The artist can be seen in photo 3 bending down.

A big welcome to anyone to visiting this page after seeing the post which featured my photos on Dundee Culture

Discovery Point and RRS Discovery
V&A Dundee

01/06/2025

Rainbow over Invergowrie Bay this evening. I don't think I've ever seen a rainbow reflected in the River Tay before.
I wonder how many Dundee Culture followers saw it and if there is any gold in that boat?

31/05/2025

The Dundee Gaming Tour
A big thank you to all the attendees of today's Dundee Gaming Tour especially these two young gamers who weren't camera shy.

A little homage to 8 bit loading screens though I used 128 colours and a much higher resolution than the original.
Future dates for The Dundee Gaming Tour
Sunday 15th June 3.30 – 4.30 pm
Saturday 21st June 3.30 – 4.30 pm
Saturday 28th June 2.00 – 3.00 pm

Saturday 5th July 2.00 – 3.00 pm
Wednesday 9th July 5:30 – 6:30 pm

Extra tours for the last two weeks of July
Monday 14th July 2.00 - 3.00 pm
Wednesday 16th July 2.00 - 3.00 pm
Thursday 17th July 11.00 am - 12.00 pm
Saturday 19th July 10.00 – 11.00 am

Monday 21st July 10.00 - 11.00 am
Wednesday 23rd July 11.00 am - 12.00 pm
Thursday 24th July 3.30 - 4.30 pm
Saturday 26th July 4.00 – 5.00 pm

29/05/2025

RRS Discovery dry dock tour part 2/3 – Underneath
Many thanks to the terrific team at the RRS Discovery for the invitation to join the dry dock tour on the 14th of May. It was amazing to see the ship from this angle and to hear about the conservation work underway. Thankfully due to the current dry spell the dry dock was very dry not many puddles at all.

The RRS Discovery has been in dry dock for 9 years now so the stacks of wood are getting crushed. The extra bits of metal protect the steel plated bow from corrosion.

Unfortunately the dry dock tour is not available to members of the public due to the current steep stair case leading down to the bottom of the dock. But hopefully in the future the access will be upgraded as it really gives you a completely different experience of this historic vessel.

In the final installment I will share my photos of the stern area, amazing to see the propeller and the mounting for the rudder up close.

Discovery Point and RRS Discovery

19/05/2025

A 60 second shoot-em up synopsis of what the Dundee Gaming Tour is about inspired by the 8 bit classic Uridium. Scroll down for tour dates.

Don’t forget on Saturday 31st of May.
At the DCA there is Drop in and Play between 1.00 - 4.00 pm
"Try out a range of new games and meet the creatives behind them at this free, drop-in event in partnership with NinjaKiwi."

What better way to follow that then to find out why Dundee has such a thriving gaming industry on the Dundee Gaming Tour starting just along the Perth Road at the Lemming statues tickets from £8.
https://dundeephotowalks.co.uk/book-your-tour/

Dundee doesn't have a gaming museum despite being:

- Where millions of ZX Spectrum 8 bit computers were made
- Where Lemmings one of the most original 16 bit games was created
- Where the Grand Theft Auto franchise began
- Where Minecraft was ported from the PC to the consoles

I can't build a museum but I can give a guided walking tour with many amusing stories, fun facts and some artifacts from the days of 8 bit gaming.

Wednesday 21st May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Saturday 31st May 3.30 – 4.30 pm

Sunday 15th June 3.30 – 4.30 pm
Saturday 21st June 3.30 – 4.30 pm
Saturday 28th June 2.00 – 3.00 pm

Saturday 5th July 2.00 – 3.00 pm
Wednesday 9th July 5:30 – 6:30 pm

Dundee Contemporary Arts

16/05/2025

Today marked the end of an era
As the last train on the epic journey from Aberdeen to Penzance passed through Dundee, 13 hours 11 mins with 42 stops in total. From now on this train will run between Aberdeen to Plymouth a mere, 11 hours 27 mins and only 35 stops.

Just in case you were wondering where it is going, you can see 37 of them on the sign at the bottom of the screen and here is the full list.

01 - 08:20 Aberdeen
02 - 08:37 Stonehaven
03 - 08:58 Montrose
04 - 09:14 Arbroath
05 - 09:33 Dundee
06 - 09:46 Leuchars
07 - 09:53 Cupar
08 - 10:00 Ladybank
09 - 10:08 Markinch
10 - 10:18 Kirkcaldy
11 - 10:34 Inverkeithing
12 - 10:50 Haymarket
13 - 11:08 Edinburgh (Waverley)
14 - 11:49 Berwick-upon-Tweed
15 - 12:10 Alnmouth
16 - 12:42 Newcastle
17 - 12:54 Durham
18 - 13:12 Darlington
19 - 13:44 York
20 - 14:11 Leeds
21 - 14:23 Wakefield Westgate
22 - 14:56 Sheffield
23 - 15:08 Chesterfield
24 - 15:30 Derby
25 - 15:40 Burton-on-Trent
26 - 16:12 Birmingham New Street
27 - 16:52 Cheltenham Spa
28 - 17:22 Bristol Parkway
29 - 17:45 Bristol Temple Meads
30 - 18:16 Taunton
31 - 18:29 Tiverton Parkway
32 - 18:49 Exeter St David's
33 - 19:09 Newton Abbot
34 - 19:21 Totnes
35 - 19:50 Plymouth
36 - 20:13 Liskeard
37 - 20:25 Bodmin Parkway
38 - 20:40 St Austell
39 - 20:57 Truro
40 - 21:08 Redruth
41 - 21:22 St Erth
42 - 21:31 Penzance

CrossCountry trains
Cross Country Trains Enthusiasts Group
Scottish Railways (Past & Present)
Scotlands Railways

Not many train fans on the platform, I think they were all on the train.
A pity as I all set to tell about tomorrow's Dundee Railway Tour.
2.00 - 3.00 pm 17th May 2025
https://dundeephotowalks.co.uk/the-dundee-railway-tour/
I think some passengers were getting off at every stop to take a photo.

14/05/2025

RRS Discovery dry dock tour part 1/3 – The bow
Many thanks to the terrific team at the RRS Discovery for the invitation to join the dry dock tour today. It was amazing to see the ship from this angle and to hear about the conservation work underway. Thankfully due to the current dry spell the dry dock was indeed dry, not many puddles at all.

1 – The port side of RRS Discovery
2 – Viewed from straight on
3 – The anchor chain and the steel plated bow
4 – Another view of the steel plated bow
5 – Looking up at the anchor chain and jib
6 – A closer view of the steel plated bow
7 – The steep stairs down
8 – The bow and foremast
9 – Roman numerals and the watermark

Unfortunately the dry dock tour is not available to members of the public due to the current steep stair case leading down to the bottom of the dock. But hopefully in the future the access will be upgraded as it really gives you a completely different experience of this historic vessel.

There will be at least two more installments of photos from my tour one batch under the ship and another at the stern.

Discovery Point and RRS Discovery

I hope you enjoyed your last day Andrew of Dundee Culture working as part of the marketing team at Dundee Heritage Trust.

04/05/2025

My third game to promote the Dundee Gaming Tour
𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙘𝙮𝙩𝙚𝙨 - another desktop game that needs a keyboard.
The Blobocytes are trying to invade Dundee, but we were not prepared. Your ship is fast and agile but the weaponry sucks, so you must use all your skills to dodge a lot of bullets while you blast away against seven different Blobocyte attacks.

A lot of great games have a link to Dundee (Lemmings, GTA + Minecraft) but don't feature the city. Here is a not a very great game which does features some Dundee cityscapes. Dundee doesn't have a gaming museum but it does have a gaming tour.

Upcoming tours:

The Dundee Railway Tour Wednesday 7th May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 10th May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee Engineering Tour Saturday 10th May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Bridge Tour Wednesday 14th May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Railway Tour Saturday 17th May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 17th May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Gaming Tour Wednesday 21st May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Railway Tour Saturday 24th May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee 2.0 Tour Saturday 24th May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Engineering Tour Wednesday 28th May 5.30 – 7.00 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 31st May 3.30 – 4.30 pm

The Dundee Railway Tour Saturday 14th June 2:00 – 3:00 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 14th June 3.30 – 4.30 pm

The Dundee Bridge Tour Saturday 21st June 2:00 – 3:00 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 21st June 3.30 – 4.30 pm

01/05/2025

Nice to see a sea gull eating some fresh sea food instead of looking in a bin. Today at City Quay, thankfully the plastic of the Aqua Park is very tough, just in case he missed.
Wild Shore Dundee

25/04/2025

My second game has three things in common with GTA and one thing in common with Minecraft.
Made in Dundee
Contains humour
The graphics are based on photos *

Three differences from GTA
It probably won’t be banned in Brazil
It won’t spawn a billion dollar franchise
It won’t be accused of promoting criminal behaviour.

Like the very first version of Minecraft it was also coded in a week using the code from another game, (Attack of the Robo-Gulls in my case). Though I doubt Microsoft will want to buy it for a couple of billion dollars so I won’t be able to buy a $70 million mansion in LA.

For those of you who wish to play this game to appreciate the humour, you will need a computer with a keyboard and the sound on so you can hear the amusing results when you find one of the nine easter eggs. One of them is actually an easter egg, others are related to the Dundee Gaming Tour or Dundee, do you see the umbrella?
https://gx.games/games/x2hak7/the-great-tay-clean-up/

I sincerely hope there isn’t that much litter in the River Tay (especially that many cones) but there is a lot litter beside Riverside Drive where I took my source photos, so many cans and plastic bottles but not that many coffee cups. Are there any bins?

Computer games are often accused of promoting bad behaviour I wonder if any studies have been done to see if they can reinforce good behaviour?

After playing this game would a young person be more careful with their waste packaging or even pick up someone else’s litter and put it in the bin?

* One of the GTA 1 team told me the car sprites were based on digital images of his scale model car collection.

Upcoming guided walking tour dates until the end of May
https://dundeephotowalks.co.uk/book-your-tour/

The Dundee Bridge Tour Wednesday 30th April 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 3rd May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee 2.0 Tour Saturday 3rd of May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Railway Tour Wednesday 7th May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 10th May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee Engineering Tour Saturday 10th May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Bridge Tour Wednesday 14th May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Railway Tour Saturday 17th May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 17th May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Gaming Tour Wednesday 21st May 5:30 – 6:30 pm
The Dundee Railway Tour Saturday 24th May 2.00 – 3.00 pm
The Dundee 2.0 Tour Saturday 24th May 3.30 – 5.00 pm

The Dundee Engineering Tour Wednesday 28th May 5.30 – 7.00 pm
The Dundee Gaming Tour Saturday 31st May 3.30 – 4.30 pm

18/04/2025

My first game Attack of the Robo-Gulls is now live.
YOU CAN ONLY PLAY ON A DEVICE WITH A KEYBOARD
Many great games have links to Dundee including: Lemmings, GTA, and Minecraft but Dundee doesn't feature in them. This is very far from a great game but it does feature Dundee.

A hungry flock of Robo-Gulls have escaped from a secret lab near Tayport and are heading across the Tay towards Dundee. Can you stop them?

Collect the floating jars of Dundee marmalade to increase your fire power, if you don’t Dundee is doomed.

If you have ever walked across the Tay Road Bridge that links Dundee to Fife it seems to go on forever in this game it really does.

The density of the Robo-Gulls increases over time. You only have one life so if you get bored just stop firing you die fairly quickly, there is stats so you can see how many Robo-Gulls you stopped from crossing the bridge. The original was much easier my son once played for over 20 minutes and almost reached 200,000 points

Please note no sea gulls were harmed whilst you played this game, they are Robo-Gulls

This game is a proof of concept could I make a game that didn’t crash on GameMaker – YES

Can I use it to promote The Dundee Gaming Tour - time will tell.

Dundee doesn't have a gaming museum despite being:

- Where millions of ZX Spectrum 8 bit computers were made
- Where Lemmings one of the most original games was created
- Where the Grand Theft Auto franchise began
- Where Minecraft was ported from the PC to the consoles
I can't build a museum but I can give a guided walking tour telling stories about the above.

A hungry flock of Robo-Gulls have escaped from a secret lab near Tayport and are heading across the Tay towards Dundee. Can you stop them? Look out for floating jars of Dundee marmalade that will increase your chances of stopping the Robo-Gull menace

17/04/2025

Two tours on Saturday 19th of April.
The Dundee Gaming Tour at 3.30 pm
- Hear about the ZX Spectrum factory in Dundee
- Watch an amusing demo of 8 bit gaming
- Hear the stories about the creation of Lemmings
- How it's success led to the creation of the GTA franchise
the evolution of the game and its unusual marketing campaigns
- Finally the origin story of Minecraft which was ported to the consoles in Dundee.

At 2 pm there is the Dundee Bridge Tour
Hear about the first railway bridge and why it failed
The lessons learnt for the second rail bridge
Hear about the third forgotten bridge used to construct
The Road Bridge across the Tay

Book thru eventbrite
https://dundeephotowalks.co.uk/book-your-tour/

A screen grab of a little world in Minecraft with a few Dundee landmarks.
Dundee Culture