Established in October 2018 on a part-time basis by David Douglas, a Derry-local and Chartered Accountant by profession, Derrie Danders provides tours of famous city sights, including the City Walls, street art and murals, the Waterside, and a number of other specialized historical topics.

David is passionate about local history and set up the business after having the opportunity to try different walking tours throughout Europe when visiting different cities for work.

He is a member of Tour Guides NI and is a Level 3 qualified guide, having done his initial Level 2 training through the local North West Regional College (NWRC), and was only recently appointed as an associate lecturer for tour guiding courses with NWRC.

From 1st June 2022, David has been operating the business on a full-time basis, with the focus being on smaller group and customised tours for both visitors and local groups within the city.

David’s ‘Blue Plaques of the Maiden City Tour’ has been accepted as one of the Tourism NI’s Embrace a Giant Spirit range of branded experiences, and will hopefully feature on their marketing campaigns in the near future.

During the COVID pandemic, David took the opportunity to work with an international company called VoiceMap, to produce a range of self-guided audio tours of the city. There are currently five English language tours available, one French and some other languages in pre-production. https://voicemap.me/tour/derry-londonderry

In David’s words: “While nothing compares to the experience of the interactive nature of a real tour with a suitably qualified and experienced local tour guide, audio tours do offer a reasonable cost and flexible alternative that may suit the itinerary of some visitors. Using a combination of GPS and my voice, the visitor is guided around the city, and these tours cover a wider area of the city than normal tours.”

Tours can be purchased on an individual basis, or as a bundle of 5 English tours. Tours are also available in bulk for businesses, including Chamber members, who may wish to offer on a complementary basis to their own visitors.