A guided walk exploring Southampton's hidden history from the Roman port and Norman castle to its role as a military port in the Second World War.
See Southampton Heritage Guides are running their Hidden History Heritage Walk from The Bargate on Saturdays and Sundays throughout May, July and September 2026. It's a guided stroll that takes you from the Bargate towards the Old Town's Town Quay, following the line of the city's medieval walls — Southampton actually has more of them still standing than any other city in the country.
Along the way, you'll pass the 14th-century Westgate, which Henry V marched through on his way to the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, and where the Pilgrim Fathers passed in 1620 to board the Mayflower at West Quay. The route also opens up the city's merchant wine vaults and a wider hidden history that stretches from the Roman port and the Norman castle to the years when Southampton was an elegant spa town. It covers the city's role as a military port and home of wartime industry during the Second World War, too, with the Mayflower and the Titanic as its most famous ships and Jane Austen among its best-known residents.
The guides are local heritage experts who also run themed walks like 'Jane Austen in Georgian Southampton', 'Southampton's American Story' and 'High Vaultage'. Your ticket also gets you 20% off at SeaCity Museum and the Tudor House Museum, so it's easy to make a full day of it.
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On Saturdays and Sundays in May, July and September, the walk runs from 10:30 to 12:00. In February, April, June, August, October and December, it's in the afternoon from 13:30 to 15:00. Everyone meets at the Bargate on High Street (what3words: hosts.likes.lifts), and tickets are £12.50.
