A few steps from where we start our tours at the front of Belfast City Hall is the site of a shocking and audacious crime that took place twenty years ago. On the 20th December 2004, £26 million was stolen from the Headquarters of the Northern Bank (now Danske Bank) in one of the largest bank robberies in British or Irish history.
The one thing that makes James Ellson's chest swell with pride when he talks about it during our Best of Belfast tour is the fact that, along with two of his former Methody pals, he edited PTQ in 1988.
If you’d asked me when I was growing up in Belfast did I think I’d ever be a tour guide, or that people would travel from all over the world to see my city, I’d have laughed in your face. Who would want to come to this violent dump during the Troubles?
Something I am eternally grateful for is that family was never physically harmed as a result of the Troubles. However, whilst we didn’t lose a loved one to the men of violence, it certainly touched our lives.
Tour guide James Ellson takes a deep dive (not literally thankfully) into the Belfast Sludge Boats and their role in keeping the city clean.
Film & TV tourism is big business in Belfast these days, much to the delight of our tour guide James....
Tour guide James Ellson remembers how the Ulster Museum saved him from boring Sundays growing up in South Belfast during the Troubles.
DC Tour's guide Jamesy delves into Belfast's history with a look back at the not so fragrant Hercules Street, the forerunner to Royal Avenue.
Belfast tour guide Jamesy reveals another secret crush while exploring the place of rugby in Irish sport in his latest blog.
Our newest tour guide Jamesy reminisces about going shopping with his Mum in Belfast in the 1970s, with fond memories of Leisureworld. And Wonderwoman.
Tour guide Jamesy uncovers the story of the birth of Belfast and the chequered past of the Chichester family who helped establish the town.
DC Tours' guide Jamesy recounts the history of Sugarhouse Entry, one of the most significant, and forgotten, streets in Belfast city centre.