AN Ayrshire based project management company are close to securing funding that will create an augmented reality trail in Girvan.

The group hope to announce plans in the next six weeks which could see their latest idea, Spirit of Scotland, come to life and be ready as early as next Spring.

This new project emerged on the back of Future Unwritten Girvan, a project started by Tartan Jigsaw which helped Girvan Town Team to explore the tourism potential of new digital technologies.

It looks to inject more fun into the community, discovering their local heritage by leading them through cleverly crafted stopping points.

Project organiser Ros Halley is still aiming at securing the full cost of the digital tour and promotional materials which would be up to £74,000. She said: “We are still in the process of making applications.

"We have been holding off making our final submissions as we are trying to involve students from Ayrshire College. We want to ensure the benefits of such a project are maximised.

“We will look to work with media, tourism and hospitality students and things are looking very positive so far. We were waiting until term started back before moving forward it all.

“If funding is successful, we would also be looking at working with local film companies, artists and actors. So far, we’ve already secured financial support from local businesses.”

The project is a modernised walkthrough of the area’s heritage. It would feature digitalised triggers people can access through their smartphone or tablet – prompting historical characters to take them through the tour.

The device’s camera would be faced at an object to activate the animation. This will generate the project’s characters to appear and help users through the trail.

The tour will mainly take place through the eyes of a young boy from the past, but there are likely to be more characters added as well. Ros added: “We plan to have more than one character. As well as the young boy, we have looked at adding an old cobbler, or even a fishing woman.

“There will also be a selfie opportunity for kids to get their picture taken with some of the historical characters on the trail. The technology will allow the characters to remain in the picture with the background, while the kids join them and get their photo taken.

“People would learn about local history here and it would help bring visitors into the area too.”

The project not only plans to engage visitors and locals with its content, but also to preserve the area’s history for generations to come.