18 December 2014
The Walking in their Shoes team, a youth-led project which
brought together a mixture of 15-25 year olds to set an interactive history
trail walking in the shoes of a First World War Soldier and the Anglo-Saxon
monk, St. Aldhelm, are pleased to officially launch their collection of
leaflets to promote their walks to the wider public and encourage them to walk
along the route. The leaflets were designed by Wallis Agency in Poundbury,
after the group received enthusiastic feedback from Geocaching participants
about the contents of the history boxes.
The cache contents are all developed, researched and
designed by volunteers in the project over the course of almost nine months.
They feature a series of flashcards which contain detailed facts and stories
about the life of a soldier from when he registered to join the frontline to
the terrible realities of what life was like in the trenches. Participants can
use a GPS device or a map and clues to locate the containers. Placed at
specific locations relevant to this period in history, the caches will hopefully
ensure that the memory of those who sacrificed their lives will be appreciated
by people of all ages from our insightful walk through time. Dorchester Tourist
Information Centre is the first in the county to distribute the leaflets
designed to accompany the walk.
One Geocacher commented: “We enjoyed doing another one of
this series: it is difficult to imagine what those first 2 weeks were like for
soldiers. It is clear you have put a lot of work into this cache and series -
you should feel very proud.”
Further positive feedback included: “The information on the
cache page really brought the history of the soldier to life. I could picture
what life would have been like. We are all so proud of all those who fought for
us and it's a good time of the year to remember all who were involved and
affected by all wars.”
Lorna Johnson, Project Officer for Walking in their Shoes,
has been delighted with the feedback so far and said, “The young team worked
really hard with partners at the Military Keep Museum and Bovington Tank Museum
to put together a great walk. It is a great activity to do in Dorchester and
Moreton and proves young people have a passion for their local heritage and are
very successful at telling important local stories in new and exciting ways.”
The project is also launching its second walk in the county,
and people will soon be able to walk in the shoes of St. Aldhelm, first Bishop
of Sherborne. They shine a light on this important but little known Anglo Saxon
hero from 705. The trail will start in Sherborne and continue through
Cerne Abbas, Wimborne Minster, Wareham and finish at St. Aldhelm’s Head.
Geocaching is an interactive and challenging activity where
users go on an outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.
Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find
the geocache (container) hidden at that location. For more information, visit http://www.geocaching.com/.
To find out more about Walking in their Shoes, visit our
website http://www.walkingintheirshoes.co.uk/
and blog http://walkingintheirshoes.blogspot.co.uk/.
Follow us on Twitter @DorsetWitS.
ENDS
About Walking in their Shoes
Walking in their Shoes is a group of 20 strong volunteers,
aged 15-25, who have researched and designed new activities for members of the
public to engage in the history of Anglo Saxon and First World War Dorset. The
project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Contact
Lorna Johnson, Project Officer, Walking in their Shoes
T: 01305 757027
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