Derry walking tour:
Our general walking tours use the city’s iconic 17th century walls as a safe and practical route to explain the history of the city including:
Early Christianity
The 17th century British colonisation of the city and creation of the walled city
The 1689 Siege of Derry
Emigration
Industrial Heritage
Partition and the origins of the conflict
The Troubles and Peace Process
Famous Names
Your walk will include photo stops at iconic sites such as St Columbs cathedral, the Loyalist Fountain estate, the Bishop Street Peace wall gallery (designed by Michael), the Apprentice Boys Hall, 1st Derry Presbyterian Church, the Bogside murals and Bloody Sunday monument, the Guildhall and the Peace Bridge. Coach tours: Covering the topics included in the walking tour, our coach tour includes a drive through the 17th century walled city area and Bogside murals plus a visit to the breathtaking Iskaheen Viewing point with panoramic views across the entire city centre.
The route also includes the 19th century Workhouse, the Craigavon and Foyle Bridges, the Georgian conservation area and the former emigration port area from where thousands departed for the New World in the 18th and 19th centuries. Political tour:
Our political tours can be delivered either on foot or by coach/taxi. The walking tour version visits the Bogside and uses the local monuments and murals to explore the origins of the conflict from the 17th century plantation through to partition and the emergence of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. We cover all the key events from the Irish nationalist perspective including the outbreak of the conflict in October 1968, the emergence of the ‘Free Derry’ no go area, the Battle of the Bogside,
internment, Bloody Sunday, the long war, the Hunger Strikes and the peace process.
We also walk the city walls and the Fountain estate to explain the development of unionism in the city and covering topics such as the resolution of the marching issue, demographic change and the rationale for the continuing existence of the peacewall. The walking tour finishes with a visit to the Guildhall (city hall) where the policies which led to the outbreak of the conflict were designed but which now acts as a symbol of co-operation and inclusive democracy.
Taxi/Coach tours: Our taxi/coach tours cover all of the above topics but also incorporate visits to the loyalist and republican murals of the Waterside and a visit to the Creggan estate, the other key area of ‘Free Derry’ and location of the city cemetery where you can visit the graves of Martin McGuinness and his Irish Republican comrades who died during the conflict.
We can also design bespoke political history tours which are aligned to Irish and international
educational curriculums to suit visiting schools and college groups from across the globe . We can also incorporate visits to the Museum of Free Derry (the story from civil rights to Bloody Sunday),
the Apprentice Boys Hall (which tells the story of the 17th century siege and marching season from a British unionist perspective).
All of the above tours are also available in French and Irish with other languages on request.
Derry Blue Badge Guide 