There was applause from bystanders outside the Orange Hall in Limavady, Co Derry, as the "Long March" left for the second stage of the 117-mile walk from Derry to Portadown in support of Protestant rights and the Portadown Orangemen.
"Our mission is to create awareness of our lack of human rights, take action to redress the balance and advance positively into the future on equal terms", said the march organiser, Mr Jonathan Bell, an Ulster Unionist councillor. "We want to give the real victims a true voice."
Protestants in Northern Ireland had experienced systematic abuse, discrimination and ethnic cleansing at the hands of republicans, Mr Bell added.
Speaking before the march departed for a 14-mile walk to Coleraine, Co Derry, a Northern Ireland Unionist Party Assembly member, Mr Norman Boyd, said that for 30 years the Protestant people had been "bombed, bullied, bribed, brainwashed and black mailed".
Mr Fraser Agnew, of the United Unionist Assembly Party, said he had not been surprised by Thursday's foiled attempt by dissident republicans to transport a bomb across the Border, with the march being a possible target.
He added that as the march went through Derry on its first day those taking part had seen "hatred and bitterness" in the eyes of some nationalist protesters lining the route. Mr Bell was also critical of the protesters. "We were only allowed to carry one banner, but we faced dozens and dozens of banners of sectarian slogans", he said.
Walking to the front of yesterday's march were victims of the 1982 Droppin' Well bomb in Ballykelly, Co Derry, which was carried out by the INLA and killed 17 people, including 11 soldiers.
Mrs Sylvia Callaghan, who lost a son in the explosion, spoke of her resentment at the early release of prisoners under the Belfast Agreement. "To know that the people who murdered my son are freely walking the streets while I and others like me are still suffering is a crime against myself and the other people who have lost loved ones", she said.
As the marchers went through the centre of Limavady supporters lined the route. Five RUC vehicles and an ambulance accompanied the march as it turned on to the A37 towards Coleraine, where organisers had last night scheduled a rally. Today the march departs from Coleraine for a nine-mile walk to Ballymoney, Co Antrim.
About 40 marchers are expected to complete the 117 miles. The "Long March" arrives in Portadown on July 4th for the annual Orange Order demonstration. The Portadown Orange Lodge has been involved in a standoff at Drumcree since last July, when it was prevented from parading down the nationalist Garvaghy Road.