A brand-new walking app for Farnham is up and running, ready to guide residents and visitors around the town’s landmarks and key points of interest.

Councillor Kika Mirylees, Lead Member for Tourism and Events says: “The Discover Farnham app will help people do just that. The app has easy to use interactive maps that take you on self-guided walks around the town and incorporates commentary to tell you about what you will see along the route. The walks are themed around history, culture, our beautiful trees and even a spooky ghost walk. We’ll be adding more over time.”

Suitable for iOS and Android devices, the app is available to download for free from the App Store and Google Play Store. It uses Google Maps, GPS and built-in features to help users get the most out of the walks.

The app provides information such as how long the route should take and detailed instructions to keep walkers on track. “There is no risk of frustrating wrong turns. We’ve put lots of effort into making sure it’s really easy to use. Nifty features like a location on the map changing colour if you have already been there and being able to stop and rejoin a trail are really helpful and you can swap between different map views to make it even easier to follow,” says Councillor Mirylees.

Farnham Town Council has provided a selection of self-guided town walks for several years, focusing on the town’s industrial heritage, public art and local trees of interest. It also runs an annual walking festival. However, the council hopes that by providing the walks on a free app, more people will take part and as new walks are developed, people with the app can try them out straightaway. “All our walks are on our website and we provide printed copies too but consumers are used to using their phones to get around so it’s an obvious next step and one which we hope will encourage more people to enjoy the town,” adds Councillor Mirylees.