Southampton Launches Accessible Guided Trail

Visit Southampton is encouraging visitors discover the city’s past this spring with the launch of some new walking trails including one that makes it easier for those with physical and learning difficulties to explore.

Southampton has unveiled a new historical tour enabling those with physical and learning difficulties to explore the city more easily.

Free, and available in a digital and printed map format, the From Parks to Port route by See Southampton offers a sensory self-guided trail in and around the city with a focus on textures, smells and sounds.

Featuring 15 locations, key sites range from the City Art Gallery and the Parks in the north of the city to God’s House Tower close to the waterfront and Docks. Using dyslexic-friendly text, ideal for mobility scooter and wheelchair users and accessible to as many audiences as possible, the leaflet and online guide highlight the historic and natural richness of Southampton. Practical points of interest including ramps, accessible toilets, lifts and venues with audio guides and description/audio tours also feature on the map. Plus, for the online version, each location can be accessed and heard by the visually impaired via optical character recognition (OCR) software.

You can download the free digital version of the map here. 

For more information visit: https://www.seesouthampton.co.uk/accessible-tour-map/

Southampton’s Tudor House and Gardens is hosting a series walking trails uncovering the maritime city’s rich history this spring. Led by its resident historian Andy Skinner, the series will start with ‘Victorian Southampton’ on 16 March, a 90-minute walking tour exploring the city’s growth during the Victorian period as it embraced the age of steam with new railways and docks. Other events include a ‘Hidden Hartumn’ tour on 5^th April, and Titanic tour on 12^th April (many of the crew who sailed aboard the doomed vessel were from Southampton). While later in the season and timed to coincide with the coronation celebrations, the ‘Regal Southampton Tour’ on 13^th May will unveil the city's royal connections over the centuries. The season ends with an Historic Graffiti trail on 18^th May and Roman Walking Tour on 15^th June. Tickets £8.

For more information about all the walking tours available visit: http://www.tudorhouseandgarden.com/

Southampton’s heritage and arts attraction – God’s House Tower has announced the spring and summer dates of its early black history Hidden Histories Tour.

From black privateers to plantation owners, starting 1^st April 2023 and running until the 2^nd September, the fascinating guided tour will run the first Saturday of each month. Shining a spotlight onto many lesser-known stories from Southampton’s past the tour uncovers the diverse heritage of the City with insights spanning the past 400 years.

Starting and finishing at God’s House Tower, on Southampton’s Town Quay, the 90-minute tour costs £5 per person and runs from 11-12.30am.

Led by a talented crew of volunteer guides who are all accredited Institute of Tourist Guiding ‘white badge holders’, proceeds from the ticket sales will help fund the venue’s ongoing programme, which uses the creative arts to tell the story of Southampton’s diverse heritage.

For more information and to book visit www.godshousetower.org.uk

Southampton’s SeaCity Museum’s permanent Titanic exhibition tells the fascinating story of its tragic sinking in 1912, and of the impact it had on the city – more than 500 households lost a family member. Ahead of a visit, the free to download 75-minute Titanic Trail and map features key locations in and around the city and port providing a fascinating backstory to the ship, its passengers and crew. Entry costs £9.50 for adults, £7.50 for seniors (65+) and £7 for under 16s, a family ticket (two adults and up to three children) costs £29. https://seacitymuseum.co.uk