The new Shipyard Trail lets visitors follow the routes used by generations of workers travelling between the Bideford and Appledore yards in north Devon. It highlights more than 500 years of shipbuilding along the Torridge estuary.
The launch on 19 September is part of the wider Heritage Open Days 2026 in Devon programme. It celebrates "the everyday histories of working lives", said organisers English Heritage.
Heritage Open Days are also being held in Cornwall. Separately, National Trust Jersey is holding an open day on 19 September.
The trail connects places where vessels were built, from wooden fishing boats to Royal Navy ships and modern military craft. Many of these sites show little visible evidence of their industrial past today, but they shaped communities on both sides of the river.
Before the launch, an exhibition will run from 17 to 19 September at the Pannier Pantry on Bridgeland Street in Barnstaple. It will showcase the Shipyard Trail, the Young Shipwrights Project 2026 and the restoration of the lifeboat Jane Hannah MacDonald III.
Other events include tours of the Steamship Freshspring and a special open day celebrating the history of Bridgeland Street.
Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, visiting in 1724, described Bridgeland Street as a "spacious, broad, well-built street inhabited with wealthy merchants who trade to most parts of the trading world".
A number of events are also being held in Cornwall to mark Heritage Open Days, including a guided tour at Chysauster ancient village and Bodmin materials recycling centre.
National Trust Jersey is marking Heritage Open Day by opening the doors to four properties on 19 September: La Ronde Porte in St Saviour, Sous les Bois in Trinity, Le Moulin de Quétivel in St Peter and the Georgian House in St Helier.
All events are free to attend.
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New Trail Remembers Generations of Shipyard Workers