Two new walking trails in England explore WW2 history
Getting in your daily steps can get kind of dull. To make the time pass quicker, you might tune into a podcast or press play on a nostalgic album. But what you might not realise is how many secretly significant sites you could be strolling past without a second glance. That’s where two new walking trails, plotted by a group of four students from Portsmouth University, come in.
The students have established the trails as part of Liberation Route Europe (LRE), a network that maps out hiking and cycling routes connecting important sites and stories in WW2 history – some obvious, others less so. Its trails stretch 10,000km across Europe but these two are the very first to be set up in the UK. The routes were revealed in August, lining up with the 80th anniversary of VJ-Day.
The first covers 8.5 km of Dartmouth and is titled ‘Dartmouth at War’. It includes stops at Britannia Royal Navy College, Dartmouth Castle which was equipped with two firing guns facing out to sea when war broke out, and Creekside Boathouse, which was home to the Motor Gun Boats that patrolled the Channel between the UK and mainland Europe.
On its site, LRE says: ‘Nestled along the River Dart, the Creekside Boathouse in Dartmouth might appear today as a tranquil retreat, but during the Second World War, it was a hub of covert naval activity and vital military operations.
‘With its discreet position on the water’s edge, shielded by wooded hills and the curving banks of the river, the boathouse was ideally placed for launching swift and secret missions.’
The other route spans 6.2km in Portsmouth. Named ‘The Community in War-Scarred Portsmouth’, it explores how citizens, civilians and troops brought a sense of community to the area. A flat and easy stroll through the city, it takes amblers by the Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth Dockyard, parts of the city targeted during the Blitz and the beach from which thousands of troops set off for D-Day.
You can follow the routes at your own pace using the Liberation Route website or via an app with interactive maps.
Check out Time Out’s favourite UK walking routes here.
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