Denny pupils’ new app takes people on heritage tour of area

The 12 teenagers joined forces with members of the Denny & Dunipace Heritage Society and the Community Green Initiative to create an audio trail around the area.

Anyone with a mobile phone can download the app and follow the easy, 4 km route around Denny and Dunipace, which is accessible to wheelchairs and buggies.

The groups behind the project were brought together by the lottery-funded project, Great Place Falkirk.

One of their aims was to help the young students learn more about their local area – and the pupils’ research turned up some real gems.

Denny and Dunipace, they tell us, were once small villages on either side of the River Carron.

However, the 19th century brought rapid growth as they became home to thriving industries – starting with corn mills and including iron foundries, coal mines and paper mills.

All of these industries are now gone – but they have left their mark, and that heritage is part of the trail, which also takes in the story of Dunipace’s famous Spanish chestnut tree and Denny’s Gala Park.

Denny High School teacher, Sarah Prophet, said: “We are so incredibly proud of being able to create this wonderful resource for our local community and to celebrate the history and heritage of our area.

“The pupils have overcome every challenge that this last year has thrown at them and have still managed to achieve brilliant success.

“Through this project, we have achieved our Heritage Hero Award (Bronze) which is a nationally recognised certificate for history and heritage conservation work.

“We have also developed skills such as teamwork, research, online content delivery and creating resources for a digital audience.

“It is hoped that these skills will be of great value to us moving

forward and we hope that the wider public will enjoy using this amazing resource.”

To get the heritage trail, you can download the Falkirk Explored app, which is also available for iOS.

It contains information on more of Falkirk district’s award-winning walks, including trails around Callendar Park, Kinneil Estate and Carron Glen.

There is also a walk around Falkirk town centre with commentary from local historian Ian Scott and an audio guide telling you more about the local stretch of the Forth & Clyde canal.

There are even things you can explore without leaving the house, such as a tour of the amazing Kinneil House in Bo’ness and Falkirk’s famous Steeple.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FKH/V