Explore somewhere new

In 2024 the Festival theme was “Archaeology and Community” and what could be better than exploring your local area or further afield and creating a map and guided trail for others to enjoy? To help you do that we have partnered with Geovey to offer training and the opportunity to create your own free digital guided trail.

Communities are something we should develop and nurture as they have the power to bring many of us together with a shared purpose for good. Imagine how powerful this becomes when we bring multiple communities together. Your map could bring together your own local community to help them explore the place where they live in a new way or introduce the stories of a place to new audiences visiting in-person or online.

You might bring together members of a community to create your trail or create a new community based on a shared interest in a particular theme or place.

 

What’s great about Geovey?

Geovey is an online platform for interactive walks and trails run by Nautoguide.Users can access images, video and sound clips which they can view as they take the walk in-person or virtually.

Geovey brings communities together under the banner of route creation. Artists, poets, videographers, researchers, local interest groups and many others can seamlessly collaborate to explore and publish walks. The platform is a great space for groups and societies to showcase the archaeology and heritage stories of their local area.

• The interactive and accessible platform makes it easy to develop engaging trails that can be followed on the ground or enjoyed virtually online
• Community created walks engage locals and visitors alike
• The platform is accessed via your browser rather than an app making if easy to use on any device
• Geovey provides the tools, no development or support is required
• You can update, edit and add to your map at any time
• The opportunities are endless; art, culture, history, sport, scenery, gardens, personalities, architecture, you name it Geovey can map it

Use your skills and imagination to quickly construct interactive walks, for example; a village trail, a pirate trail, a tour of local murals, an easy stroll for those wanting to get fitter or a path to a wild swimming spot. You could even do your own treasure hunt quiz using buildings and landscape features.

Upload your free walk

Geovey are currently offering you the opportunity to test out the platform with one free walk (for non-commercial use). This will enable you to use all the core features of the platform you will need to design and publish your route. To help you get started the Geovey team have put together a series of short videos on how the platform works, and how to get started.

Check out the introductory guide and videos to introduce you to the process.

You might also like to check out some of the featured walks in the Geovey Showcase to get some inspiration about what is possible.

If you need any help while setting up your walk you can contact Geovey for help and advice by contacting their support desk.

Out and About Archaeology

This May, the CBA launched a new event called Out and About Archaeology which encourages people to explore places around the UK through guided walks and other activities.

As part of the event we produced our own walk with Geovey to test out the platform and see just how easy it was to use. See how we got on and take a journey through Cropton with our Footmarks walk with CBA Executive Director, Neil Redfern and archaeologist and author Jim Leary.

We will be releasing more walks on Geovey soon so keep a look out via our website and social media and we’ll look forward to taking some more journeys around the UK with you soon.

Want to make more trails?

Once you have tried out your free walk, you might want to consider a subscription so you can build up a collection of walks. For just £15 a month you can publish up to 50 walks and you will also get a whole range of additional features. You can find out more on the Geovey website.

If you need any additional help or have any questions for the Geovey team you can contact them at [email protected].

In 2025 we will be showcasing some of our favourite archaeology and heritage walks from Geovey as part of Out and About Archaeology.

Share what you do

If you create your own map we would love to hear about it. Share your maps via social media and tag us so we can see and share your brilliant work @archaeologyuk #FestivalofArchaeology