The Secret War: Escape lines WW2
The F route or Lister route – Pyrenees Escape, France to Spain
This journey combines immersive history, guided trekking and leadership reflection inspired by the extraordinary women who organised and took part in these WW2 escape networks. This story inspired the film Transatlantic and Lisa’s daring journey’s after having escaped from a camp in Gurs which paved the way for the operations of the French resistance and networks becoming more organised later in the war.
Join us on the 26-28th June on a long weekend on this fabulous journey!
Leadership Expedition: The Women Who Led the Escape
With Angela Philp, Women’s resilience and leadership coach
and Anne Arran, Freedom Trail Treks Director, Guide
Walk the escape routes—Immerse yourself in their decisions.
“🌄 Three transformative days—fully present, fully engaged. Three days away from the everyday, to reflect, realign, and reconnect with what truly matters. Three days of meaningful connections, enriching conversations, and shared laughter. Collaborating with Angela is always a journey of profound insight and powerful alignment. Her reminder to “invest in yourself” was a gift—one I chose to embrace wholeheartedly.
🐿️ Deep thanks to Cécile IDOUXVanessa O’ConnellCarolyn GibsonAnne Arran for the support all along the way. And big round of applause to Angela Philp for again creating premium experience”.
⭐ What about you? When and how do you carve out time to nurture your own growth and well-being?
Lead—with their courage & creativity.
We trek across the Pyrenees along the same paths used by Lisa Fittko (link opens in a new browser window) and fellow resistance guides, retracing the route that carried refugees, artists, and political dissidents to freedom. But this is more than a journey through mountains.
It’s a journey into:
- Decision-making under pressure
- Leadership without authority
- Trust in high-risk environments
- Creative resilience in uncertainty
Each day blends guided trekking, storytelling, and leadership reflection, grounded in real events that shaped the outcome of thousands of lives.
Trip Partner:
The Story Behind the Trail
In 1940–41, as Europe fell under Nazi control, small, loosely connected networks achieved the impossible. Working with the Emergency Rescue Committee, local officials, and Varian Fry network, they created lifelines where none existed. These were not formal leaders. They had no playbook and no certainty of success. Yet their actions helped save thousands.
Lisa and Hans Fittko helped hundreds of refugees over the Pyrenees to Spain and onto Barcelona, Madrid, Badajoz and Lisbon.
Lisa guided refugees across remote mountain passes under constant threat.
Varian Fry orchestrated escape routes from Marseille. and Mary Jayne Gold, funded operations, securing safe houses, and enabling movement.
Why This Matters Today
Before the systems of MI9 and the Special Operations Executive scaled escape and evasion operations, these women were already:
- Operating in ambiguity.
- Building trust networks from scratch.
- Making critical decisions with incomplete information.
- Leading without recognition or structure.