Plan an audio tour around your visitors

Begin with the visitor journey

Walk the route as someone arriving for the first time. Where do visitors enter? What can they see without explanation? Where would a short story help them understand the place? At an unmanned site, the first sign also needs to explain how to start without a member of staff.

Choose stops because there is something worth explaining, rather than dividing the route into equal distances. A small initial route can give your team a more manageable review task. The right number of stops depends on the material and the visitor journey.

Gather the material you already trust

Interpretation panels, guide notes, archive links, maps and local research are useful starting points. Identify the source of important dates, names and claims. Flag disputed stories or gaps so they are handled clearly in the draft.

Choose one person to coordinate feedback and identify who gives final editorial approval. Where photographs or archive material are supplied, establish permission to use them in the tour.

What affects the scope and cost?

The number of stops, amount of source material, script preparation, chosen languages, narration and review work all affect the project. Signage, imagery, route mapping and future changes should also be discussed so the quote reflects the actual work.

Ask what the initial package includes and what is charged separately. Agree any ongoing hosting or support arrangements, the process for content updates and any recurring charges before committing. A site-specific quote is more useful than comparing headline prices for tours with different scope.

Our focus is unmanned heritage sites, gardens and trails welcoming roughly 20,000 to 300,000 visitors annually. Footfall helps us understand the setting; it is not a substitute for agreeing stops, content and access requirements.

Review a sample before expanding the route

Request a short demonstration draft using your site name and available interpretation. The existing sample process offers English and one relevant visitor language. Listen for historical accuracy, pronunciation, tone and whether the story works at the intended stop.

Record corrections against the draft, then agree how the full scripts and languages will be approved. Read more about multilingual narration and content review.

Check the route and the QR-code starting point

Test mobile reception or visitor Wi-Fi at the entrance and proposed stops. Tell us about gaps before the tour is scoped so access requirements can be agreed. Confirm where signs may be placed and whether a freestanding or removable sign is appropriate.

Try the proposed starting point with someone unfamiliar with the site. They should be able to find the code, open the tour and understand the next step. Consider visitors who prefer text, and make route suitability and opening information easy to find alongside the interpretation.

Agree what happens after launch

Decide who checks the QR signs, reports content corrections and reviews information when the route changes. Agree how text, translations and narration are updated. The handover should make those responsibilities clear to the people looking after the site.

Prepare a short brief

Send the site name, website, approximate annual visitor numbers, staffing arrangements, likely stops and preferred languages. Include your existing interpretation, known coverage issues and any intended launch date. It is fine to identify decisions that are still open.

Download the project brief template

For an example of the visitor interface, explore the Quin Friary tour.