They've never been on Bath's must-see tourist trail.

But more people could now be beating a path to the Morrisons store in London Road and the blocks of flats at Snow Hill.

The unlikely landmarks feature in three new audio story walks which have been launched as part of efforts to celebrate the community spirit and history of the neglected gateway to Bath.

The Heads & Tales live fiction company is one of a number of organisations working with people in London Road and Snow Hill to make the area feel good about itself and enable it to take control of its destiny.

There are three stories set in and inspired by the area.

These can be downloaded free onto iPods or smartphones from www.headsandtales.org.uk/audiostories.

A spokeswoman said: "With this innovative approach to stories, Heads & Tales hope to attract audiences that reach for their iPods before they reach for a book. We also aim to attract visitors to one of the least-visited areas of Bath, an area that is often ignored or forgotten but has hidden riches for those that care to look.

"If you don't know the area, it's the main access road into the city from the east and can come across as a little bit neglected, a little bit rough around the edges, but it inspires great devotion in many of the people who live there."

The group held workshops with residents before its own writers wandered local streets to come up with their own stories.

Each has audio directions which can be downloaded or printed so the listener can walk the route which is part of the narrative of the story, with the strolls lasting between 20 and 30 minutes.

The stories weave in subjects from a mythical creature to carbon-dating while the routes also take in spots from Alice Park to Cleveland Bridge and Hedgemead Park to Kensington Gardens.

They have been written by Steve Lambert, whose plays have been performed at the Rondo and Ustinov in Bath; Clare Reddaway, who lives in Camden and walks her dog along London Road nearly every day; and former Bath resident Pauline Masurel.

The project was funded by Bath and North East Somerset Council, as part of the wider drive to breathe new life into the area.

Residents are also campaigning for the council to allow buildings it owns at Longacre to be turned into a community venue.