West Devon Borough Council is developing six trails between Tavistock and Plymouth (one of which is a section of Sustrans Route 27, the Devon coast-to-coast), for walkers and cyclists, to be launched in March 2009. There is a preliminary website here.

We have been commissioned to work with pupils at Tavistock College to build a series of interpretational podcasts to support the trails, which have a general theme around the life and work of Sir Francis Drake.   Each will have an audio introduction (a virtual trailhead), and then will have one or two audio points along the way to provide an extra layer of interpretation for users.  This will provide rich interpretation material with minimal physical impact on the sites.  Users will download them to an MP3 player (such as an iPod™ or iPhone™ ) and then cue a particular audio segment based on where they are on a particular trail.  Printed maps will show where the podcasts sites are along the trail.

The project begins this September, when 25 people and a handful of staff from Tavistock College will spend the day on Dartmoor doing some initial investigation along some of the trails, and visiting key Drake-related sites such as Buckland Abbey.  Then work begins in earnest to identify, develop, write, and record the podcasts by the end of the year, in plenty of time for a launch in the spring of 2009.

We are currently looking for a youth worker / sound artist to help lead this process. 

Download the brief. Apply here (deadline September 9, 2008)