The Gower Peninsula in Swansea is a land of history, beauty and amazing variety.
The ‘This is Gower’ app has featured on BBC’s Countryfile and Radio Wales. Scroll down to watch/listen.
There are now several resources available to help you explore Britain’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and learn about its natural and built heritage, its archaeology and lesser-known industrial history, together with past traditions and practices.
This is Gower app
‘This is Gower’ is a location-aware guide to the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
With over 80 places to explore, the app (available on iOS and Android) promotes popular locations such as Worms Head and Arthur’s Stone alongside other less well-known spots that appeal to both visitors and locals alike.
This is Gower also features 15 easy-to-follow trails varying in length and theme for users to explore – from a quick jaunt to visit the remains of WW2 defences on Mumbles Hill, to a wild ramble out to Whiteford National Nature Reserve.
The bilingual app is also jam packed full of beautiful photos and audio soundbites from interview with ‘Gowerians’. Learn the local lingo – a peculiar language that once flourished in the south of the peninsula – send souvenir photos and collect badges as you explore the stunning Gower peninsula. All content is available offline.
The app has featured on BBC’s Countryfile and BBC Radio Wales. Scroll down for more details.
I live in Nott’m, but am from Gower. I was there this week and used the new app. Congrats – i think it’s excellent. I’ve known the area all my life but found out [a] few things and a walk which was mostly new to me. Combining with ed activities and info = inspiring.
Jan from Nottingham [via email] – scroll down for more feedback.
The trails are also available as a series of downloadable PDFs.
BBC Radio Wales
Listen to BBC Radio Wales reporter Jason Phelps experience the This is Gower app in October 2016. This six minute feature is a really good summary of the app.
Education Packs
Four education packs were also developed. The packs work in tandem with the walking trails app and help children explore four themes: sea, history, making a living and nature. The links are for English versions. Contact us for Welsh pdfs.
Countryfile
Audio Trails’ Dan Boys showcased an early version of the This is Gower app on BBC’s Countryfile.
Filming took place in Southgate, Gower and Dan explained to Ellie Harrison how the app worked. The pair practised some Gower dialect and took a ‘selfie’ to create and sent a virtual ‘Postcard from Gower’ – one of the apps features – to John Craven. Not all the footage made it to the final cut – scroll down to watch the two minute clip.
Feedback
Developing the ‘This Is Gower’ app with Audio Trails was a really interesting and informative process and has given us a product that we are proud of and one that has been very well received.
Dan was meticulous in his research for the content of the app, and we were impressed with the commitment he made to talking with and interviewing local people to eke out fascinating stories and memories of Gower’s past. He’s has a real knack! The written narrative, accompanying images and audio clips give a good insight into Gower’s unique and fascinating heritage and landscape.
Helen Grey, Gower Landscape Project Coordinator
Walking is the main way of accessing many of the peninsula’s special features. The app is packed with lots of walking trails, varying in length and grade for everyone to explore. Gower is well known for its stunning beaches, but there is so much more to discover and visit. The new app will help people find out all about Gower.
Robert Francis Davies, Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration.
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This is Gower was built using our Places and Trails platform. Learn more at at-creative.co.uk.