Welcome to my website! I’m Dr Tom Thorpe, and seek to unveil Belfast’s messy past to curious travellers, history enthusiasts & locals eager to rediscover their city. I am a Belfast resident, Belfast Green Badge Tour guide and local historian.
Walking tours are also available as gift experiences, offering a thoughtful and memorable way to share Belfast’s history with someone special.
TOURS
People & Places: a general introduction to the fascinating individuals, places and events that have shaped Belfast’s history.
Diseases & Drs: learn about Belfast’s medical past detailing the plagues and pestilence that affected the health and wellbeing of the population from the 1750s.
Buildings & Bricks: explore the rich and diverse religious, municipal and commercial architecture of the city centre.
Queen’s Quarter: discover the interesting buildings, gardens and public art around Queen’s University in south Belfast.
Belfast Blitz during the Second World War: learn about the aerial bombing raids which extensively damaged Belfast’s city centre and claimed over 1,000 lives during April and May 1941.
Titanic Quarter and Maritime Belfast: a voyage through Belfast’s historic Titanic Quarter to discover the city’s docks, shipyards, naval heritage and how the Titanic was built.
Belfast’s Troubles Walking Tour A journey through divided communities and a shared complex history.
AntiSlavery Belfast: delve into Belfast’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and its role in slavery’s abolition. This link takes you to another website. This is a project that I run with colleague and friend Mark Doherty.
For more information, contact me on contact@drtomstours.com or use the form here.
I also do bespoke private tours for individuals and groups.
Why choose me?
- I am a qualified professional Belfast Green Badge Tour Guide, certified to deliver walking tours in Belfast as an affiliate of the Institute of Tourist Guiding. I am also a member of the Northern Ireland Tourist Guide Association.
- I am a published professional historian, holding a PhD from King’s College London and having been involved in many local Belfast history projects such as The Men Behind the Glass and Epidemic Belfast.
- I am also a professional communicator, having previously had a career as a public relations professional before I became a Belfast tour guide. I have done many broadcast media interviews as a historical expert, given many public lectures and am an avid podcaster and currently present and produce two history podcasts: the Combat Morale Podcast and Mentioned in Dispatches for the history society, the Western Front Association.
For more information, contact me on contact@drtomstours.com or use the form here.
Latest Posts
[{"id":3764,"link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/27\/forrest-reid\/","name":"forrest-reid","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/forrest-reid-c7db339f-8947-45e8-b44e-cc58790cd66-resize-750-500x500-1.jpeg","alt":""},"title":"Forrest Reid","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"admin","link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"},"date":"Mar 27, 2026","dateGMT":"2026-03-27 11:06:00","modifiedDate":"2026-03-10 20:39:16","modifiedDateGMT":"2026-03-10 20:39:16","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"closed","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":0,"sec":57},"status":"publish","excerpt":""},{"id":3692,"link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/troops-in-northern-ireland-in-1940-a-complex-strategy-amidst-rising-tensions\/","name":"troops-in-northern-ireland-in-1940-a-complex-strategy-amidst-rising-tensions","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NW-22.4.41-p.3.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Troops in Northern Ireland in 1940: A Complex Strategy Amidst Rising Tensions","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"admin","link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"},"date":"Mar 20, 2026","dateGMT":"2026-03-20 10:37:00","modifiedDate":"2026-03-10 20:37:26","modifiedDateGMT":"2026-03-10 20:37:26","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"closed","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":5},"status":"publish","excerpt":""},{"id":4550,"link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/18\/belfast-highlights-with-the-band-of-the-braves\/","name":"belfast-highlights-with-the-band-of-the-braves","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260318_122359-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Belfast Highlights with the Band of the Braves","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"admin","link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"},"date":"Mar 18, 2026","dateGMT":"2026-03-18 13:01:33","modifiedDate":"2026-03-18 13:01:43","modifiedDateGMT":"2026-03-18 13:01:43","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"closed","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":0,"sec":17},"status":"publish","excerpt":""},{"id":4542,"link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/stepping-into-belfasts-troubled-past\/","name":"stepping-into-belfasts-troubled-past","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260313_143458-scaled.jpg","alt":""},"title":"Stepping into Belfast's troubled past","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"admin","link":"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"},"date":"Mar 13, 2026","dateGMT":"2026-03-13 17:02:22","modifiedDate":"2026-03-13 17:12:55","modifiedDateGMT":"2026-03-13 17:12:55","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"closed","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drtomstours.com\/index.php\/category\/34\/\" rel=\"category tag\">-----<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":0,"sec":11},"status":"publish","excerpt":""}]
