Project: Hilsea Lines Audio Trail

Artist: John ‘JJ’ Marshallsay
Location: Blue Lagoon, London Rd, Hilsea, Portsmouth PO2 9RP
ALL THREE DAYS

The Hilsea Lines audio trail begins at the Blue Lagoon, London Rd, Hilsea, Portsmouth PO2 9RP (What Three Words: Factor.Drama.Loves) and leads to the Old Airport, PO3 5PF (What Three Words: Keen.Nodded.Trial).

The trail will be approximately an hour’s walk, taking in 35 stops.

To follow the trail simply download the free Echoes XYZ app to your smartphone and listen to the audio while you follow the inbuilt route map. The trails can either be downloaded for free or streamed. Please bear in mind streaming content will use data and you may be charged.

Download Echoes app here

Got the app already? Head to the trail here.

One of the city’s most varied and historic wildlife havens, Hilsea Lines contains woodland, hedgerows, meadows, both fresh and brackish water areas, marshland and coastal habitats all within 80 hectares. The history of Hilsea Lines very much reflects the development of Portsmouth as a military base. When complete Hilsea Lines extended for 2.5km along the whole northern side of Portsea Island and largely remain today.

This trail was created in collaboration with Seekers Create, a creative social enterprise who work with young people to plan, design and create heritage trails for the community to enjoy.

Artist Bio:

John ‘JJ’ Marshallsay set up the Facebook group Memories of Bygone Portsmouth in 2013. Today it has just over 35,300 members. He became interested in the history of Portsmouth from an early age, thanks to his granddad telling him stories of his own childhood growing up in the city. JJ has amassed a vast collection of books about the city. In this trail he recounts his youth, talks about the military history of Hilsea Lines, as well as anecdotes of the island.