Lockdown measures and other restrictions have encouraged us to find new ways of sharing our local history stories, in the face of closed venues. But our work on the history of South Bank, Nunnery Lane and Clementhorpe in York continues, and luckily we’ve been able to adopt innovative ways of talking about it. We’ve been using our award-winning website, amplified by social media, to illustrate our latest findings.
We’re now delighted to offer you a collection of audio-guided history walks. These are free guided walks on izi.travel, an app which you can use on your smartphone, with earphones. The system was designed for both the travel industry and museums and heritage organisations. You might choose to do a walk by yourself, or as a couple or a family, at a time when group guided walks are less possible. These are aimed at anyone with an interest in the area, and we’re hoping to surprise you with some little known features and facts.
The app allows you to listen to a commentary while walking around our local area. It will tell you about significant features of our history, and shine a light on notable buildings. The commentary plays automatically as you arrive at a point, and the app also features a dynamic map, historic images and descriptive text. So far we've produced the following walks:
This app can be used on iPhone and most Android phones. (Unfortunately it may not be available for some Huawei phones because of the Google issue).
You will first need to download the free app onto your smartphone - go to Google Play Store/ iPhone App Store and find izi.travel to do this.
When it's installed, select All Around Me. It will then ask you to allow it to track your location. If you're using an iPhone you may need to open and click on the Search field near the top of the screen first.
You should then see our walk as an option. Click on it for our contents screen.
Are you at the starting point? If you are, then press Play Audio for the introduction. You can also use this part of the commentary to adjust the sound on your phone if you wish.
Then press the Start
Then all you have to do is walk. Listen to the commentary and take time to look at the images which appear for a particular location. Tap on a photo to look at it and then swipe across for more. You can also read the notes if you wish, as they reflect the commentary.
