Ordnance Survey reveals secrets of towns and cities

Ordnance Survey is launching a ‘Secret Stories’ app to banish lockdown blues and turn family walks into mini-adventures.

The Secret Stories app is free to download and brings towns and cities to life, with each self-guided tour revealing a diverse and interesting mixture of folklore, celebrity, history and myth as you follow the route around.

The first Hampshire locations to feature walks include Winchester, Romsey, Alresford, Whitchurch, Chawton, Southampton, Stockbridge, Portsmouth, Lymington, Lyndhurst and the New Forest. Further Secret Stories tours are planned across the rest of Great Britain throughout 2021.

Each Secret Stories tour varies, but can contain a mixture of audio clips, images, challenges, puzzles, teasers and directions to help users immerse themselves in each location.

On Winchester’s Saxon Bones and Suffragettes Tour, families can learn about Queen Emma, King Canute’s wife, whose remains were discovered in the city.

Nick Giles, Managing Director for OS Leisure, said: “We know it can be difficult to find something for everyone to enjoy together outdoors which is why OS has created Secret Stories, to make a walk more fun and interesting for the whole family. Simply download the Secret Stories app, make your way to the location of your choice, and pick a ‘tour leader’ for the group. Then set off on a guided tour and learn about unique stories together, everything from mysterious deaths to scandalous romances, rogue kings and much more.”

The app allows users to save tours and enjoy them as many times as they like. Users can also add their own stories by using the app’s Community Stories option.