THREE new self-guided trails have been launched in Southampton in a bid to get more people walking.

Southampton City Council has launched the new walks with the free app, Go Jauntly, with each one following different themes from public art and food, to a treasure trail for children around Houndwell Park.

Each one is aimed at giving the user a new perspective on the city’s culture and encourages people to spend more time outside.

The Southampton Public Art Trail takes walkers on a tour of some of the city’s sculptures, mosaics, murals and benches while telling the story of each piece.

Highlights include the sculpture outside the BBC Radio Solent building, the street art created in the Re:Claim Southampton Festival and the dancers on the Bedford Place car park railings.

Meanwhile, the Southampton Foodie Tour points out restaurants located inside architecturally stunning buildings, the history of Southampton’s food markets and even notes some famous people who have dined in these places.

The third new walk, called The Ocean Explorer Trail, offers children the opportunity to prevent pirates from stealing valuable jewels and challenges them to solve clues to find the letters that spell out the name of the ship the villains are planning to target.

Cabinet member for Growth and Deputy Leader, Councillor Jeremy Moulton, said: “Walking around Southampton gives us a fantastic opportunity to see and learn about some of the city’s lesser-known points of interest.

"It’s a great way to combine nature and the outdoors with our heritage and culture, and it’s all completely free of course!

"It’s great to work with Go Jauntly and to launch these walks which also complement our bid to make Southampton the UK’s City of Culture in 2025.”

Sage Fitzpatrick, Marketing Manager at Go Jauntly added: “It’s so exciting to be working with Southampton City Council once again to encourage people to walk more around the city.

"Our walks give users a new perspective of some of the city’s fantastic culture, from delving into an artist's story to sharing details about long standing foodie traditions in the city.”