Satnav gives guided tour of British history

A BUDDING amateur historian has come up with a rather smart gizmo which aims to educate historically-challenged Brits about some of the basics of their homeland and heritage.

The in-car software, which some witty PR guru has dubbed the 1066-and-all-that-nav, alerts motorists when they are passing near some of Britain’s historical sites and offers them a running commentary.

Invented by history buff Daniel Taylor, the RoadTour Heritage software responds to satellite prompts as the car approaches sites of interest.

Some 600 sites are listed, with the programme giving up to 90 seconds of commentary along with pictures. If there is a fee required for entry, the software gives information about opening hours and prices.

Amateur history buff Daniel Taylor

Research commissioned by RoadTour seems to paint a bit of a grim picture about the British grasp of history.

Apparently, one in 10 of us believe the A1 is Britain's oldest road and was built by the Romans when in fact, it was designed by the Ministry of Transport and built in the early 20th century.

Just over a third of us – 38 percent – believe Hadrian’s Wall is in Scotland, rather than England. Oh and 29 percent of Scots believe the same.

And should you want to visit Stonehenge, only one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, one in 10 Brits between the ages of 18-24 will point you towards Norfolk. Sheesh.

"We hope our guide will tempt people to pull off the motorway or A-road and visit some of the wonderful sites which have helped shape Britain's history," says Taylor who heads up RoadTour.

"Restoring our knowledge and understanding of the history of this amazing country is what this product is about," he says.

"A friendly reminder, which tempts us into exploring our heritage as we're driving up the M40 or wherever, seems to me to be altogether a good thing."

The RoadTour Heritage software works with Garmin satellite navigation equipment and is available to download from www.roadtour.co.uk at a cost of £19.95. µ