Discover the people, places and events that shaped Plymouth with two new walking trails

2nd March 2021

Explore the city on foot and gain a fresh perspective on Plymouth life with the launch of two new themed walking trails celebrating the city’s powerful women, past and present, and Plymouth’s LGBTQ+ history.

Plymouth’s Powerful Women and Pride in Plymouth: Rainbow Connections both launch on the Plymouth Trails app this spring, inviting you to immerse yourself in local history.

Plymouth’s Powerful Women

Launching on Monday 8 March to celebrate International Women’s Day, the Plymouth’s Powerful Women trail will see walkers discover some of the most influential women the city has had the honour of hosting.

The 1.2-mile route, which starts on the Hoe and stops at 13 sites, will allow followers to hear the stories of scientist Marjorie Wilson, language school founder Suzanne Sparrow, suffragist Clara Daymond and the South West’s first female GP Dr Rosa Bale. The route finishes at the Mayflower Steps, where Nancy Astor laid the commemorative stone in 1920 to mark Mayflower 300. 

Developed by the Hoe Neighbourhood Forum for their National Lottery Heritage Funded project, ‘100 Years of Plymouth Powerful Women’ in association with the University of Plymouth, the trail celebrates 100 years of important and influential women who lived or worked in the vicinity of The Hoe and who made a real difference to the City: pushing boundaries, enhancing living conditions, promoting social justice and creating educational opportunities for all.

Pride in Plymouth Rainbow Connections

A 3-mile route running from Stonehouse to the Barbican, the Pride in Plymouth trail stops at 17 sites, all with a connection to Plymouth’s LGBTQ+ history, people and stories. The trail uses archival images along with audio of oral histories from members of Plymouth’s LGBTQ+ community.

Amblers will learn about the now-lost underground gay clubs of Union Street, as well as the story of local resident Mark Weston who transitioned in 1936, and the link between Gus Honeybun and Plymouth’s gay community. The trail celebrates Plymouth’s LGBTQ+ heritage, but also remembers the darker moments, including the brutal murder of Terry Sweet in 1995.

Developed with Pride in Plymouth for their newest project, Rainbow Connections, a National Lottery Heritage Funded project which sees them work with multiple partners across the city, the trail builds on the work of the existing Plymouth LGBT Archive in collecting and exploring the heritage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The project focusses on how this heritage is handed down to the younger generation.

With travel currently restricted due to the coronavirus lockdown, people are urged to only physically follow the trails if they live locally and should wait until restrictions ease if they’re based further afield. However, all the app content can be explored from home which means anyone can download and learn more about Plymouth from wherever they are. 

The Rainbow Connections and Powerful Women trails are the 7th and 8th trails to be added to the Plymouth Trails app, which is free to download and aims to give visitors and locals the chance to explore the city through new eyes and discover more about its history.

The app launched in July 2020 with three core trails on offer: the Mayflower Trail, Plymouth Hoe Trail and a City Centre Trail.

Councillor Pete Smith, Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: “Plymouth has a rich and fascinating history and our aim for the app was to make that more accessible to everyone, locals and visitors alike. It’s free to download and is packed full of fascinating information for you to discover, whether you’re out on a walk or browsing at home.

“We’re delighted that the two newest trails to be added will tell stories that haven’t been shared widely in the past, shining a spotlight on the people and communities that helped make our city the amazing and diverse place it is today.”

You can download the app now on Android or iOS. For more information head to www.visitplymouth.co.uk/trails.