Geopark Way Malvern [iPhone]

App gives walking directions and geological info for the northern half of the Malvern Hills in the English counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The walk specifically featured is section 10 of the Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark Way. This section of the trail passes over the most ancient rocks in the Geopark and ascends to the greatest height at Worcestershire Beacon.

The app gives geological and other information, connecting the ground you are walking over with its ancient past – of scorching deserts, tropical rainforest, shorelines beside disappeared oceans, volcanoes, ice, vast river plains… placing where you are now, to this places location on the Earth from the present to around 750 million years ago - a time spanning all the rock ages in the Geopark.

The app has all required data loaded and does not require cellular or WiFi connectivity in the field – just a charged battery.

The app has 5 core views, the default is the Map of the trail overlain on a geology map, which, if the device has GPS, displays your location and provides a feed of information about the rocks and ancient places you are walking over (without GPS, or other location service) you can manually supply your position by touching the map.

The Photos view provides around 300 pictures to guide your walk and provide information. When walking the trail the app delivers you the photo taken nearest to where you are (there is set of pictures for walking from North Malvern toward Colwall Stone and another set for a walk from Colwall Stones towards North Malvern. The photos are linked to additional information, for example 3D cross-sections through the Malvern Hills. The photos can also be used to give a virtual walk of the trail, or to judge in advance the challenge the terrain may present, or to find parts that are suited to disabled access. The map provides facilities locations along the trail.

The Past view places the rocks under you, into their global tectonic setting, of plate positions along with data for past CO2, oxygen, temperature, sea level and species extinction rate. Recreations of possible ancient landscapes of the GeoPark are provided, together with maps of past landmasses and oceans such as the Iapetus, Rheic and Tethys.

The Location view provides position and optionally will record your walk and provide an updated estimate of how long to it will take you to complete. Here you can select which set of photos to display along with whether to have the map centre on your location - similar to the way in which a satnav homes the view and information to your current position.

The Info view provides links to the organisations, whose largely volunteer workers, have created and maintain the Geopark and its trail.