A summer programme of history tours is giving children in Belfast a new way to explore the city’s past, using one of its oldest burial grounds as an outdoor classroom.

Dr Robyn Atcheson is leading the walks through Friar’s Bush graveyard, a site beside the Ulster Museum that dates back at least to the 1500s. The ground contains a mass grave for about 800 victims of the Great Famine who died in Belfast, as well as the remains of many people lost to cholera outbreaks. Bernard Hughes, the baker credited with creating the Belfast Bap, is also interred there.

Atcheson said the cemetery, which originally served as a gathering place for mass around a fairy thorn bush, was walled and gained a gate lodge during the 19th century. She designed the tours specifically for children aged six to twelve, with activities intended to hold their attention during the school break.

The sessions cover the history of diseases such as cholera and smallpox, along with the ways they were treated in earlier centuries. Atcheson told those attending that graveyard visits had sparked her own love of history as a child and that she wanted to offer the same experience to a young audience.

Among the children who joined a recent tour was ten-year-old Scarlett, who said she found the stories fascinating and appreciated learning how people and events had shaped the world. Seven-year-old Eleanor noted that she was especially interested in the causes of death, while five-year-old Nelle mentioned learning about old-fashioned hospitals.

Atcheson said her goal was to encourage children to ask questions and think critically about their surroundings. She hopes the tours will help young people feel connected to places that are on their doorstep but often overlooked.