Getting in your daily steps can get kind of dull.\u00a0To 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\u2019s where two new walking trails,\u00a0plotted by a group of four students from Portsmouth University, come in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The students have established the trails as part of Liberation Route Europe (LRE), a network that maps out hiking and cycling routes connecting\u00a0important\u00a0sites and stories in WW2 history \u2013 some obvious, others\u00a0less so. Its trails stretch 10,000km across Europe but these two are the very first to be set up in the UK.\u00a0The routes were revealed in August, lining up with the 80th anniversary of VJ-Day.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0first\u00a0covers 8.5 km of Dartmouth and is titled \u2018Dartmouth at War\u2019. 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\u00a0Motor Gun Boats that patrolled the Channel between the UK and mainland Europe.<\/p>\n
On its site, LRE says: \u2018\u200b\u200bNestled 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.<\/p>\n
\u2018With its discreet position on the water\u2019s edge, shielded by wooded hills and the curving banks of the river, the boathouse was ideally placed for launching swift and secret missions.\u2019<\/p>\n
The\u00a0other route spans 6.2km in Portsmouth. Named \u2018The Community in War-Scarred Portsmouth\u2019, 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
You can follow the routes at your own pace using the Liberation Route website<\/a> or via an app with interactive maps.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check out\u00a0Time Out\u2019s favourite UK walking routes here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Did you see\u00a0the walking trail\u00a0that was crowned the UK\u2019s most popular hike in 2025<\/a>?<\/p>\n Plus:\u00a0A \u2018Museum of Failure\u2019 is coming to the UK in 2026<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n