The Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre QR TrailsI was the instigator and Project Manager for the QR Trails Project with BBOWT (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) at their very popular Nature Discovery Centre site . The best way to experience these trails is to walk them for yourself at Thatcham in Berkshire. If you have a smartphone you will be able to scan each of the Quick Response (QR) codes that are displayed on the trail markers on a series of wooden posts, as shown below.
The Red Trail is quite short, just 1km around the lake next to the visitor centre. The Blue Trail is a bit longer, 3km (2 miles). It goes though the Reedbeds Nature Reserve and uses a short section of the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath before returning to the Discovery Centre. You can see the routes on an interactive Google Map by clicking the following link.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zjTSo52FZYfs.kntRWN6tunvM
If you have no opportunity to go to Thatcham yourself, you can still try the trails while sitting in the comfort of your own home using your PC, laptop, or tablet device. Just click on the links below and you will see what it would have looked like on a Smartphone simulator. The “Smartphone” works pretty much like a real one. You can scroll up and down, and press the buttons displayed and so on.
Have fun!
Trail post and subject | URL for webpage |
Red 1 and Blue 1 Mallards | |
Red 2 and Blue 2 Pochards | |
Red 3 Winter Twigs | |
Red 4 Garden Birds | |
Red 5 Gravel Extraction | |
Red 6 Sedum Roof | |
Blue 3 Stoneage Man | |
Blue 3a The Bird Hide | |
Blue 4 A Rare Snail | |
Blue 4a Alders and woodturning | |
Blue 4b Canal Locks | |
Blue 4c K&A Canal | |
Blue 5 Messy and Managed | |
Blue 6 Managing Reedbeds | |
Blue 7 Junction of Red and Blue |