See Southampton Heritage Guides – Sightseeing tours, tour guides and accessible tours

 Welcome to See Southampton Heritage Guides 

 Welcome to See Southampton

Guided Tours

See some of Southampton’s wonderful architectural, historical and cultural heritage with our tour guides.

Private Group Walks

Book a walk for a group or private party, tailored for your interests, with a qualified local history expert.

Accessible Guided Tours

Guided tours are for everyone! We offer a sign language interpreter, voice amplifiers, ramps, lifts, and accessible toilet facilities.

More history in Southampton than you ever imagined!

See Southampton Heritage Guides is a team of qualified local heritage experts and tour guides, delivering an entertaining programme of walks and talks for visitors, cruise ship passengers and local residents.

Events & Tours

Click poster for brochure PDF

Discover Southampton’s History - Guided Tours

90 minute guided walks, including visits to Southampton’s towers and vaults.

  • Days: Saturdays and Sundays until 31 March 2024
  • Time: 1.30pm
  • Location: Meet at the Lions on the north side of the Bargate (SO14 2DJ)
  • Cost: £7.00 per adult, accompanied children free. Payment by cash or card.

Spring and summer walks will depart from the Bargate, at 10.30am and 1.30pm from Sat 6 April 2024.

The team from See Southampton Heritage Guides will be delivering walks in October, December 2023 and February 2024, and our colleagues from the STGA during November 2023, January and March 2024. Southampton’s tour guiding associations, See Southampton Heritage Guides and the Southampton Tourist Guides Association are working in partnership in 2023/24 to deliver an exciting programme of Southampton History Walks, supported by Go! Southampton.  Click here to view brochure PDF
See Southampton - Mayflower Exhibition at Westgate Hall and Tower

The Westgate

In 2019 SEE Southampton made a display in the Westgate covering the history of The Mayflower and The Speedwell and the ‘principal players’ involved in its story, in readiness for the marking of the Mayflower 400th anniversary in 2020.

Whilst many of the events connected with the anniversary had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the display was completed and has been open on many weekends and will continue in 2024 – see our events page or join us on Facebook for current opening information. Our Sunday walks will conclude at the Westgate. 

New for 2024 is also a D-Day and Titanic Exhibition which will open on Sunday 31st March.

Southampton's Hidden History

Let us reveal the hidden history of your city! Southampton history walks depart the Lions by the Bargate at  1.30pm on weekends between Sun 1 October 2023 and Sun 31 March 2024, after which a spring and summer 2024 timetable will take effect. History walks are being staged by See Southampton and Southampton Tourist Guides Association, supported by Go! Southampton.

Talks at Portswood Library
Click poster for dates & details

Talks at Portswood Library - FREE!

A series of talks covering the history of Southampton.

If you would like to book a talk, our team is always happy to provide guest speakers on a range of subjects.  Contact us for details.

D-Day 80

Throughout June 2024, See Southampton commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings 1994 with a series of events.

More information to come.

Map and Tour - "From Parks to Port"
Map and Tour - "From Parks to Port"

See Southampton's Accessible Guided Tours

We ensure that our guided tours are accessible to those with (visible or non-visible) physical and learning difficulties, and are wheelchair and mobility scooter friendly.

"From Parks to Port" - See Southampton's map with Accessible Trail

See Southampton have produced a map that details accessible places of interest, and includes lifts, toilets, ramps and facilities that can be easily accessed by wheelchair and mobility scooter users.

Award

Beautiful South Award

See Southampton has won a prestigious accolade at the Beautiful South Awards for Excellence 2023.

Read the full article in the Southern Daily Echo

Reviews

Rebecca
Rebecca
2024-02-19
Fantastic tour Nigel took our group on a tour of Southampton history including entry to three of the vaults. Excellent. So knowledgable yet makes everything interesting and fun. There were 116 years in the 100 year war ;-) I would thoroughly recommend. Southampton is my home town and I learnt so much.
StuartB
StuartB
2024-02-11
Walls and crypts Two entertaining and informative hours spent with an experienced and knowledgeable guide. Nigel led us through the history of Southampton as we viewed its fortifications and storage cellars. A fact- and joke-filled afternoon
VeraC
VeraC
2024-02-04
So much more to Southampton I went for the Walk of Medieval Southampton tour that started at Bargate, around the walls and also into a wine vault! I went because I have settled in this area, but don't really know a lot about its history. Yet, I see all these historical buildings and walls around town, I want to know more. It turns out Southampton isn't just another city. Because of its geographical location, many have passed through it, and many monuments tell stories of that. The walls are much older than I thought, and when I follow the tour, I can see how they interconnect. I also didn't know how close the shores used to be, how there was a castle, and there was a land that was owned by one person, who now has a whole area named after him. A lot of the street names make much more sense now, and it makes me feel more at home. Katie did a great job giving historical details and cultural gossip about the town! Thank you!
Marie G
Marie G
2024-02-04
So much to discover about Sotton! Great walk through Southampton's history. Katie was excellent and kept the tour lively all the way. I discovered so much about Southampton that I would never have guessed and will never walk her streets the same way again. I highly recommend this tour to visitors and Sottonians alike.
Dara C
Dara C
2024-01-08
Medieval tour Excellent informative tour. Lots of information learnt about our home town. Tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable and didn't rush us. Kate who organises is very helpful and accommodating
Texas Travel Girl
Texas Travel Girl
2023-11-06
See Southampton Tours - Highly Recommended We highly recommend See Southampton. In order to better understand our interests and arrange the perfect itinerary for us, Katie was gracious enough to meet with me over Zoom prior to our visit. She handled our shifting demands with professionalism and empathy. We look forward to booking with them on our next visit to Southampton.
Matthias T
Matthias T
2023-10-31
Great tour with Katie from See Southampton We did a private tour with Katie as a family of four. It was a great experience and a pleasure to be guided by Katie who is a very lovely person. Our kids understand her speaking English as we live in Germany. I can highly recommend See Southampton and Katie as a guide. She showed us places where others have no access to...:-)
t0pspinna
t0pspinna
2023-10-30
A great tour of of the hidden history of old Southampton. A great tour of of the hidden history of old Southampton. Our guide Katie was extremly knowlegable - she really brought the fascinating history to life.
Catherine T
Catherine T
2023-10-18
Interesting and enjoyable 1 hr special tour in company of Lord Mayor of Southampton, visiting the medieval vaults, which were fascinating. Then wine tasting and food pairing, very enjoyable.
Leah G
Leah G
2023-08-26
A Must-Do Southampton Activity We took the 90-minute Hidden Secrets walking tour on 6 Aug2023 with Inge. We had a small group of 15 which included two local couples as well as other tourists. Inge was knowledgeable and provided us with incredible information about the historic city. Because of questions from one of the local guests, we were offered to extend our tour to several other vaults. This extended the tour for the better part of an hour and added (for everyone, including our guide) an unexpected paranormal experienced - fabulous! We considered this is a must-do activity and are so happy we did the tour!
Skip to content