Take a coronavirus-safe virtual tour to learn about Chatteris' history

Chatteris Past Present and Future - the recognised civic society for Chatteris - has launched a new "Digital Tour" of the town to coincide with Heritage Open Days, currently taking place.

The tour allows members of the public to walk a trail around the town, with additional information about each of the sights they see visible directly on their own smartphone or tablet.

Participants will be able to read about how different places in Chatteris have evolved over time, and compare what they're seeing to historical photos from the Chatteris Community Archive.

Covid-19 guidance can easily be followed because the tour is self-guided and entirely outdoors using participants' own devices, although participants are reminded of the importance of following social distancing guidelines while navigating the route.

If members of the public are unable to take the tour in person, don't have a mobile-internet enabled mobile device, or if Covid-19 restrictions are further tightened then people can still follow the tour from the comfort of their own homes using any laptop or computer with an internet connection.

The tour can be found at: https://www.chatteris-civic.org.uk/tour

The society has also launched a quiz about Chatteris, which will be available until Sunday (20): http://bit.ly/cppf-quiz

Lawrence Weetman, the group's chairman, said: 2Chatteris Past, Present and Future organises events for Heritage Open Days every September, but due to the coronavirus pandemic we knew things would have to be a little bit different this year. Heritage Open Days encouraged organisers to host online, digital and socially distanced events.

"We had been hoping to create an online tour for a while, but we decided that this was a perfect opportunity to be innovative and give it a go.

"We're really pleased that we've been able to create something that is very accessible to so many people. We've already had positive feedback from members of the public who have followed the tour from home. We're really proud that we've been able to create something that is as much fun for people to do in the comfort of their own homes as it is to follow along in person.

"For now, the tour follows the route of the Chatteris Town Trail - enriched with more information than was previously available. We hope to be able to expand on that in the future. We'd love to create further tours that demonstrate how Chatteris' High Street has changed over time, that highlight the many buildings that served as public houses in Victorian times, and take people on a tour of the many important listed buildings that Chatteris has to offer."