New interactive trail for Crediton launched to encourage people to discover the town’s hidden treasures

A NEW interactive trail, which is fun and inclusive, was launched in Crediton by The Turning Tides Project in partnership with the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership to encourage people to discover the town’s hidden treasures.

The trail launch began at the Crediton Station Tea Rooms with music from The Turning Tides Project band, which entertained visitors with a number of songs. A series of videos, filmed at each stop on the trail, were played in the tea rooms.

Richard Burningham, of Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, who attended the launch and went on the trail, said: “This has been backed by a grant from the Community Rail Development Fund a joint initiative between the Department for Transport and the Community Rail Network.”

Richard added: “It’s a great project and our aim with The Turning Tides Project is to get more people to visit the town.

“There will be the new Okehampton train service from November 20 and Crediton will have one extra train an hour when there is an Okehampton train. 

"When the hourly Okehampton service begins next Summer, Crediton will have two trains an hour to and from Exeter. ”

Two guided tours set off from The Station Tea Rooms to follow the trail.

A charming signing Saxon (named Keir) led the tour and was joined by Joe, the narrator. Together they gave information and a task to complete at each stop.

Stops on the trail include Crediton Arts Centre, St Lawrence Green, Crediton Museum, St Boniface Statue and Crediton Parish Church.

The tasks include creating a short performance, sketching something in the museum and standing still like a statue for five minutes.

Session Leader, Roger, from The Turning Tides Project said: “The Tuesday Making Waves sessions put the trail together: researching; filming and editing the videos. The artwork was created by other members of TTTP: Nathan, Briony and Alice (@WyrdWarin) who also designs our monthly adverts in the Courier.

“There are 12 stops on the trail and each stop has a task. We’ve tried to include a variety of stops including arts and history. People can do as much or as little as they want, depending on the time available. It’s something that you can keep revisiting and exploring.

“The launch today is guided but anyone can do the trail on their own.

“The trail is free and has something for everyone; maps can be collected from Crediton Station Tea Rooms.

“The videos can be watched along the route using a mobile phone and tasks are suggested for each stop to make the trail more interactive.

“We would love to see the ideas that people come up with along the way – using #CreditonTrail on Instagram and Facebook means we can see it and will create an online gallery of the community’s creativity.”

The videos are available at: The Turning Tides Project YouTube .