More than 30 tourists decided to forego the fast ferry to Hamilton for a two-hour excursion of the Island.

The visitors had signed on for the inaugural African Diaspora Heritage Trail (ADHT) tour, which took place yesterday.

A bus full of cruise ship passengers left the Visitor Information Centre in historical Naval Dockyard at 10 a.m. for a meandering trip into the city.

The first stop was Commissioner's House the tour group was the first in 100 years to travel along the original roadway past Casemates to the historic house.

Executive director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum, Ed Harris, joined the bus briefly and gave an account of how Dockyard came to be.

The visitors were then allowed off the bus for a short tour of Commissioner's House.

The ADHT highlighted various areas of black historical importance on the Island including the original site of Cup Match on Simmons Field, near the St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Somerset.

Tourists also learned about Sally Bassett. The tour pointed out the slave's home on George's Bay Road, across from Pompano Beach Club. It also took in the Crow Lane property where she is said to have burned at the stake for poisoning her master. A statue on Cabinet grounds erected in her honour in 2008, was also pointed out.

Bermudian cultural heritage expert Ruth Thomas explained how "saucy Sally" was given three lashes for every 30 paces as she walked throughout Southampton a decade before she was sentenced to death because she was insolent towards her master.

Pauline Roles, of Colchester, England, said: "I am so glad we found out about this tour. I like to learn about a country's history and culture when I visit it. I think it is a great idea to have a cultural tour available. We found out about it when we stepped off the cruise ship this morning."

It was Ms Roles' first visit to Bermuda. She decided to come after travelling to the East Coast of Canada on the Norwegian Cruise Line last year.

"Bermuda isn't really on our radar in the UK," she said. "People don't really know about it. But when I heard the NCL came here I decided I wanted to visit Bermuda. I love the sun and visiting beautiful places and I have been to the Caribbean, but the UK connection in Bermuda really drew me."

Rhode Island visitors Ed Tanzi and George Stewart were also on the tour.

"It was a great tour," Mr. Tanzi said. "I really enjoyed the oral history parts of it, to know what was written but also what has been handed down through generations. We got a chance to learn about Bermuda and its history which is great."

Added Mr. Stewart: "We like to do historical things when we come some place and this was a highly impressive tour."

The tour finished at the National Gallery where Culture Minister Neletha Butterfield said it was wonderful to see the dream of late Tourism Minister David Allen, come to fruition. Mr. Allen suggested creating something similar here a decade ago.

ADHT executive director Michelle Burrows said yesterday she was pleased with the turn out.

"We weren't sure if it would be full so it was great to see that there were no empty seats on the bus," she said. "We decided to offer the bus tour because our research showed that there are no prearranged cultural land tours for tourists. They can go on boat tours or snorkelling but there are no land tours. We approached the cruise ships and the response was good.

"The timing was good to start a heritage tour during May, which is Heritage Month. There is a need for this as a tourism product. It was originally developed in 2002 as a tour for people visiting for the ADHT conference, but we wanted to expand it.

"It is something I think locals should do too. We are looking to open up ten free seats a week for locals to take part in the tour."

The tour costs $20; $12 for children under 12. It takes place every Monday starting at 10 a.m. and does not run on public holidays.

Anyone interested in sponsoring a separate tour for school children should contact Ms Burrows on 294-9781. It costs approximately $500 to sponsor the bus.