Sleaford Heritage Trail

For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes A walk around Belton Park with Chris Shaw, the Belton House Head Ranger. If you like this, please let your Twitter / X followers know about it: vtsw.uk/sw/ntbh/x

During the Second World War, Lincolnshire’s expanse of flat agricultural land was ideal for the construction of airfields as the Royal Air Force rapidly expanded whilst the threat of war loomed. Much as counties such as Kent became synonymous with Fighter Command and the Battle of Britain, Lincolnshire has since been known as ‘Bomber County’. As the number of those with lived experience of the war dwindles, their story is now told to new generations through museums and memorials across the county. A drive in almost any direction will skirt the last physical remnants of this history: an old control tower, a perimeter track, or a solitary Nissen hut amidst the undergrowth. The past is never far away. Yet even with a story so familiar and well remembered, there are many stories still to be heard. Over 125,000 aircrew served with Bomber Command. Supporting them were countless ground crew tasked with training, maintenance, and keeping aircraft serviceable. Aircrew, of whom 55,573 were killed, represented well over half the nations of the world. The FlightPaths trail celebrates the often-overlooked stories of the men and women who travelled from the far corners of the former British Empire to serve in Bomber Command during the Second World War. While countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand provided the highest proportion of overseas aircrew, every corner of the globe was represented, from Britain’s then colonies and dominions to those from Nazi-occupied countries. Download the free Echoes app and enjoy this audio trail across the city. The trail can be listened to in any order but works best when followed in the sequence presented in this guide. Along the way, you will hear direct testimony from those who were there and experienced these events firsthand. Veteran audio interviews courtesy of Electric Egg and the Into the Wind Archive © 2005-2026 Electric Egg Trail archive images courtesy of the veterans/crown copyright Music by Hugh Cowling Photography by Electric Egg Commissioned by Threshold Studios as part of the Reimagining Lincolnshire and Lincoln Connected programmes, made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund and funding from the Be Lincoln Town Deal Fund, with additional support from Arts Council England, and developed in partnership with the University of Lincoln.

For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes The green spaces at Barnsdale are home to over 100 young trees. An orchard of apple varieties, with 60 trees, was planted in 2012 on the south-facing slope at the entrance to the car parking area. Then in 2016, a ‘nuttery’ of 50 trees was planted in a snaking line from the orchard to the entrance to Barnsdale Wood. Here you can learn about the huge variety of apples that were once common in England. If you are keen to see the differences between an almond tree, a walnut, a pecan or a pine nut, please follow this walk and also look at the pictures in the Echoes App.

For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes The small county of Rutland uses the Latin motto “Multum in Parvo” which means “Much in little”. This reflects the fact that Rutland is the smallest county in England by area, but it has a lot to offer in terms of natural beauty, history, and culture. This sound ride has been created so that people who are cycling around Rutland Water, can learn about the history of various points of interest around it. If you'd like to walk it, it'll still work, but you'll have long gaps between the various echoes. There's no specific start or finish point, so you can start your ride (or walk) at any point on the loop. Also, this has been created to support the Leicestershire and Rutland charity, Hope Against Cancer. If you enjoy it, please do consider making a donation to the charity by visiting www.justgiving.com/hopefoundationcancerresearch and clicking the Donate button. If you like this, please let your Twitter / X followers know about it: vtsw.uk/sw/rw/x

PLEASE NOTE: This is just a sample to show the Oakham Castle team what's possible. For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes Discover England's most complete surviving Norman Hall. Take a step back in time, through the ancient gateway, to explore Oakham Castle. If you like this, please let your Twitter / X followers know about it: vtsw.uk/sw/ocr/x

Walk a around the village and open your ears to what you cannot see in Manton... but be prepared to be spooked!! For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes

For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes Walk a loop of the village and open your ears to what you cannot see in Braunston...

For help using the Echoes App, please visit vtsw.uk/echoes. There is about twenty-five minutes of audio in this Sound Walk, all of which are excerpts from the book the "The Tenth Battalion Trail". The Trail is focusses on a number of places related to the Tenth Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, during the nine months it spent in High Leicestershire from December 1943 to September 1944. During that time, The Tenth was billeted in the villages of Somerby, Thorpe Satchville and Burrough on the Hill. If you enjoy listening to the stories in the Walk, we would encourage you to buy a copy, as it will give you much more information around each of the locations in the Walk. It also has a detailed history of the Tenth written by Prosper Keating. For more information, please follow this link https://friendsofthetenth.co.uk/product/the-tenth-battalion-trail-guidebook How you choose to follow this Sound Walk is entirely up to you. There's a Strava walking route here: www.strava.com/routes/3447517172964478806, a Strava cycling route here: www.strava.com/routes/3450797452392584768 and a Google Maps driving route here: maps.app.goo.gl/C8yNyEuRXvDQioxD9. Along the way there are pubs and cafes where you can stop off for drinks, snacks or full meals. There are also useful shops as well as places where you can spend a night. To hear the whole script for each location (AKA 'echo'), you will need to stay inside the echo until the audio has finished as the walk is set to only play the audio when you are actually located in the echo. If you leave the echo, the audio will stop. But if you go back into it, it will carry on from where it left off, or re-start if it had already finished. Alternatively, if you like, you can just virtually visit all the locations from the comfort of your sofa by visiting www.vtsw.uk/vt/ttbt.

11min ambient soundscape, installed as a walk into the Bonington Building at Nottingham Trent University from Nottingham Railway Station (or equivalent distance from any direction)