London’s history brought to life … virtually

TIMELOOPER has introduced three 360-degree virtual reality time travel videos that enable visitors to #London to use their smartphones and virtual reality headsets to leap back in time. 

Users can experience medieval times near the Tower of London, The Great Fire of London next to St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the WW2 Blitz from Trafalgar Square.

The videos are location-based, so visitors must be at the locations to unlock the virtual reality experiences. Once a visitor unlocks content, he or she can share the videos with friends and family members from anywhere.

The company’s CEO, Yigit Yigiter, says: ‘#Timelooper began as my childhood dream to bring history to life in a more vivid way. Today, emerging digital technologies such as virtual reality and 360-degree videos make it possible to capture and communicate history and current events, and to envision our future world, in more immersive and exciting ways.’

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WW2 tunnels in Dover’s white cliffs open to the public

A NETWORK of forgotten WW2 tunnels inside the #WhiteCliffsofDover has been opened to the public by the #National Trust. 

The Fan Bay Deep Shelter was carved out of chalk in just 100 days in 1940 on Winston Churchill's orders as part of Dover's connected offensive and defensive gun batteries, aimed attacking German shipping in the English Channel.

At 75ft below the Kent coastline, the 3,500 sq feet of interconnecting tunnels, which are reinforced with iron girders and metal sheeting, accommodated 200 men.

The shelter – which was inspected by Churchill in 1941 – was decommissioned in the 1950s and filled in with rubble and soil during the 1970s.

The National Trust say the well-preserved tunnels are a time capsule, giving insights into war-time life, with graffiti-covered walls, discarded ammunition, and even a football pools coupon found in them. 

Tons of rubble and soil were removed by hand from the tunnels in an 18-month project involving more than 50 National Trust volunteers, archaeologists, mine consultants, engineers, and a geologist.

Jon Barker, visitor experience manager at the White Cliffs, said: ‘This re-discovered piece of the country's Second World War heritage is a truly remarkable find. There has been no public access to the tunnels for more than 40 years, and so they remain much as they were when they were abandoned.

‘We've carried out extensive conservation work to preserve both the natural decay and authentic atmosphere of the space."

The shelter was carved out of the chalk by Royal Engineers from the 172nd Tunnelling Company, and had a hospital, secure store and five large chambers providing bomb-proof accommodation.

Tickets are not available at the tunnel entrance. Book a space at the visitor reception centre before walking the 1.5 miles to the tunnel entrance and the 125 steps down into the network.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87920827@N06/8044663115">Dover Cliffs</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license), National Trust