Free guided heritage and ghost walks have been organised around the city centre as part of the activity programme to coincide with the popular Derby Ram Trail this summer.
Derby Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), in partnership with Derby Museums, have organised the guided walks to showcase the areas’ hidden treasures which are the historic backdrop to the Derby Ram Trail as well as the ghostly stories linked to the landmark buildings and events.
The walks, led by local tour guide Jack Clarke, will be held on Saturday July 10 and Saturday July 24. The two-hour heritage walks will start from Derby Museum and Art Gallery in The Strand at 10.30am on both days and are designed to be suitable for all the family.
The ghost walks will start at 3.30pm but are not recommended for children and young people aged under 16.
Jack Clarke explained:
I have planned gentle routes around the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter – talking about some of the notable buildings, local history such as the origins of the Derby Ram and the famous figures from the city’s past from John Lombe to Florence Nightingale.
The ghost tour will then cover the darker side of Derby's history and ghostly tales linked to some of our landmark buildings and hidden treasures.
The guided walks are free of charge but visitors are asked to make an online donation to the Derby Museums Endowment Fund.
Numbers on the walks are limited to 30 and should be pre-booked to avoid disappointment. Book your place on the Guided Heritage Walks or Ghost Walks on Eventbrite.
Throughout the guided walks, everyone will be asked to wear a face mask and maintain social distancing.
Rescheduled from last summer, The Derby Ram Trail has been brought to the city by Derby Museums, in partnership with Wild in Art and is an amazing public art sculpture event with 30 individually painted 5ft tall Rams, threading through the city centre until August 22.
The Cathedral Quarter BID are the presenting partner and St Peters Quarter BID are the trail partner for the project - reflecting the positive impact that the trail has already had on the two areas where the majority of the sculptures are situated.
Martin Langsdale MBE, chair of the Cathedral Quarter BID and Helen Wathall MBE, chair of St Peters Quarter BID concluded:
The public response to the Derby Ram Trail has already been amazing and we hope that these guided tours will be yet another reason for people to plan a day out in the city centre.
We recommend that people book early online to avoid disappointment as numbers are obviously limited due to current Covid restrictions.