Princetown goes online with Virtually Dartmoor

23 May 2006

Princetown goes online with Virtually Dartmoor

Visitors to Dartmoor National Park Authority’s new web site Virtually Dartmoor (www.virtuallydartmoor.org.uk) can now enjoy an interactive virtual tour of Princetown in the company of people who know it well.

Virtually Dartmoor was launched in November 2005 to provide online visitors with the opportunity to explore a variety of locations on Dartmoor through interactive virtual tours created through a combination of 360° panoramic images, the spoken word and archive photographs.

Visitors to the virtual tour of Princetown will be guided through a series of panoramic images of the village while listening to how the settlement developed at the end of the 18th century, through the entrepreneurial endeavours of Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt; they will learn about the early days of the prison, initially built to detain prisoners from the wars with France and America; and discover what makes the village a popular place for visitors today.

Becky Newell, Oral History Project Officer, Dartmoor National Park Authority, said:

‘To create this interactive tour of Princetown we have spoken to both people with specialist knowledge of the history of the settlement and members of the community who have memories of life there during the first half of the 20th century, when there was a bustling railway station in the village; Bolt's shop provided for every need, and ponies mingled with visitors in the centre of the village.’

Visitors to the web site can also take two online excursions from Princetown; first to Four Winds car park, which was the site of a school, attended by children of local quarry workers between 1915 and 1936; and secondly to the prehistoric landscape of Merrivale with its ceremonial monuments of stone rows and standing stones.

Virtually Dartmoor was created by Dartmoor National Park Authority with the help of the Dartmoor Trust, and funded by the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund and English Heritage. Virtual tours of other Dartmoor locations will be added to the site throughout the year, next will be the Postbridge and Bellever area.

Ends

For Further Information

Becky Newell, Oral History Project Officer

Mike Nendick, Communications Officer, Dartmoor National Park Authority

Tel: (01626) 832093

For Further Information from Integralvision

www.integralvision.co.uk (external link, opens new window)

Agendas for full Dartmoor National Park Authority meetings and Dartmoor National Park Authority planning meetings are now available on the Authority's website

You can receive an e-mail notification each time a News Release is issued by the Dartmoor National Park Authority (see www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk and click on News).

Subscribe to DNPA News

News Releases from all UK National Parks

Notes for Editors

Virtually Dartmoor was born out of Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Moor Memories oral history project which has identified strong links between people and places on the moor and found that recorded memories, combined with photographic images, can create a very powerful means of bringing a place to life.

Virtually Dartmoor was launched in November 2005 with a virtual tour of Higher Uppacott, a Grade 1 listed medieval longhouse owned by the DNPA. In its first six months Virtually Dartmoor has received over 12,500 online visitors from over 50 countries around the world.

Virtually Dartmoor was designed and built by Ashburton based web design company Integralvision. Integralvison has been involved with building a number of high profile web sites recently, including the new Broadband4Devon site. www.integralvision.co.uk.

Immersive, panoramic and selected still images used on Virtually Dartmoor were taken by Sphereworks Ltd, specialists in high quality photography. www.sphereworks.co.uk (external link, opens new window).

The Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund was set up to encourage innovative sustainable development projects that help to improve the quality of life for current and future generations. The fund supports proposals that focus on environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects of life. The scheme is funded by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and managed locally by the Dartmoor National Park Authority. For further information contact Peter Joyce, Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund Officer, Dartmoor National Park Authority on (01626) 832093. Online information on the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund.

English Heritage is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment and is responsible for protecting and promoting England’s unique legacy of historic buildings, landscapes and archaeological sites for the benefit of this and future generations. It also manages over 400 sites and welcomes more than 11 million visitors to these each year.

For full details please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk (external link, opens new window) or contact English Heritage customer services on 0870 333 1181.

National Parks cover 10% of the land area of England, Wales and Scotland. They are of special value to the whole nation because of their great beauty, their wildlife and cultural interests and the opportunities they offer for quiet enjoyment. However, they are not nationally owned - the land is in the hands of many landowners or occupiers including farmers. Over 33,000 people live inside the Dartmoor National Park and many millions of visits are made to it each year.

Return to General Interest News Releases

This page last updated 23 May 2006

Send comments, enquiries, etc. to communications@dartmoor-npa.gov.uk

Page updated 23 May 2006