New app set to trace Fife's historic royals

The scheme, ‘In the Footsteps of Kings and their Queens’ will see a new augmented reality app created which will bring the area’s rich royal history to life allowing visitors of all ages to interact with characters and take part in activities at each location.

The Heartlands area of Fife extends from Glenrothes and Markinch to Aberdour, Burntisland, Kinghorn and along the coast to Kirkcaldy and Dysart.

The app will guide visitors along the royal footsteps and connect them with places of interest, such as Ravenscraig Castle, Lochore Castle, Aberdour Castle and Markinch Church.

Visitors will be able to learn more about royal connections in a series of ‘footsteps’ which will provide augmented reality content on a phone or tablet. Travel between the footsteps can be by walking, cycling, car or as part of a guided tour.

The project has received £90,000 funding as part of a grant from Scottish Enterprise to enhance visitor experiences across the region.

Councillor Ian Cameron said: “The widespread use of mobile phones and computer games is creating generations of digital natives, so to be relevant, heritage and history has to be accessible to them using their digital literacies.

“The ‘footsteps’ initiative is a fantastic opportunity to engage visitors in an authentic way, and will continue driving tourism to the area.”

Ann Camus, Fife Tourism Partnership manager, said the project will use state-of-the-art technology to tap into Fife’s past: “We are delighted work has started and can’t wait to see the reality app.

“Soon, visitors will be able to use state of the art digital technology to get a real sense of the history of the locations included in the app.”

Ann added: “We believe that ‘In the Footsteps of Kings and Queens’ will help our visitors to bring the rich history of Fife alive and are looking forward to its launch later this year.”