Legend of Alderley Edge put into the hands of visitors with new Augmented Reality app

An augmented reality (AR) app, which brings the Legend of Alderley Edge to life for visitors, has been launched, focusing on visitor and local community connections to the legend.

Following the success of a pilot version funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which ran between 2022 and 2023, the Invisible Worlds app has been officially launched.

Alderley Edge in Cheshire, cared for by the National Trust, is home to a local legend concerning an ancient army sleeping beneath the hill, guarded by a mysterious wizard.

The app has been designed to bring the Legend of Alderley to life, and to encourage both local communities and visitors, to share new and existing legends of this remarkable site and its landscape.

Invisible Worlds is accessible via smartphone or tablet, and shares and collects new versions of the legend, presented alongside curated soundscapes, visions of wizards and white horses, and glimpses into the hidden network of mines beneath the site.

The app is part of a research project led by the University of Birmingham, the University of Lincoln, and the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London, in collaboration with the National Trust.

Commenting on the app launch, Victoria Flood, the Principal Investigator on the project and Professor of Medieval & Early Modern Literature at the University of Birmingham, said:  “The app has been designed to offer visitors to Alderley Edge a new way to experience its rich, legendary history, which has shaped human relationships to the site for at least three centuries, and is rooted in regional narratives which are even older still. 

“Invisible Worlds is a unique blend of local storytelling, placemaking and interactivity, giving an immersive platform for people to digitally engage with otherwise intangible histories.”

Alongside its legendary content, the app shares information on the environmental history of Alderley Edge and has been designed to help raise awareness of the ecological importance of safeguarding non-built heritage sites.

Speaking about the new iteration of the app, Professor Flood added: “We are looking forward to exploring the ways in which the app might be used to encourage visitors to help to protect and conserve this truly magical landscape”.

Kate Picker, Experience and Visitor Programming Manager at National Trust, said: "We hope Invisible Worlds will give people the chance to see the Edge in a new way and add some extra magic to their visits.  It’s an exciting way to explore the stories of the site.”

Invisible Worlds is available to download on iOS and Android now.