National park hits on internet app to connect with visitors

Work is under way to expand a mobile telephone application which was launched in May to incorporate more locations across the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The app currently focuses on the Malham and Hawes areas, but the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is in the process of adding an extension to cover Dent and Reeth. The authority is also using social media websites Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, and has launched free downloadable audio trails and maps on its website.

Interpretation officer Karen Griffiths said: “The main reason for using new technology is to reach a larger – and younger – audience and to encourage people to get active in the countryside and enjoy the hidden world around them. The app is proving to be very popular indeed – we had something like 2,000 downloads in the first week when we launched the iPhone version.”

The app has now been launched across the four main phone platforms – iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Symbian – to provide downloadable information about walking, cycling and mountain biking routes as well as details about forthcoming events.