A new walking tour focussing solely on the Waterside area of Derry is hoping to attract more tourists to some of the city’s lesser known historical sites.
The Historic Waterside Walking Tours was launched in Ebrington Square after funding was secured by the Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership (WNP) to roll out the project on a pilot basis.
Alison Wallace, Strategy Manager with the WNP, said that the aim of the new walking tours was to get tourists “beyond Ebrington Square.”
“One of things we always wanted to do here at the Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership was to make the Waterside area a tourist destination, because visitors only seem to come over the Peace Bridge and stop at Ebrington Square, and we wanted to get them beyond there and bring them into the Waterside,” she said.
“We received from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), who are now the Department for Communities and that allowed us to have three people trained as walk tour leaders.”
She added the tours take in sites which show the rich – and often untapped – history of the Waterside area and its potential to boost the overall tourism product offered by the city.
“The walks take in the whole Waterside area, and sites such as the Workhouse and the murals at Bond Street, so the tours involve both traditions of the area.”
She added while the walking tours is currently in pilot phase, the Partnership hopes to have a ‘more substantial’ tour in operation for the summer of 2017, with the aim of expanding the area covered by the torus to include the likes of Eskaheen.
The tours will run throughout August and September and will depart from the Guildhall on Wednesdays and Thursdays at11.00am.
For more information contact the Waterside Area Partnership on 02871349594.
Alison Wallace, strategy manager, Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership with Gerard Mclaughlin, tour guide at the launch of Historic Waterside Walking Tours. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)
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