Cumberland Council plans to bring hidden Roman heritage to life for visitors to Hadrian's Wall in Cumbria through virtual and augmented reality animation. The animation is to run on an app featuring a bird's-eye interactive map, as part of the Discover Hadrian's Wall West project. The aim is to attract new audiences, give the whole Wall a unified brand identity and encourage visitors to stay longer.
Cumbria Crack reported the funding approval on 12 November 2026; the project has not yet been delivered. Work on the Cumbrian project is due to begin in late 2026 and finish in January 2028.
What is planned
According to Cumbria Crack, the Cumbrian project will introduce:
- 68 heritage interpretation points
- physical and digital wayfinding
- 10 trail locations across Cumbria
The council leader, Councillor Mark Fryer, said the project will highlight Roman Cumbria and the heritage assets along the west of the Wall and the Cumbria Coast. Lady Jane Gibson, chair of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site Partnership Board, said the Wall can be hidden in the landscape in places, so its stories are waiting to be told.
Funding and wider scheme
The Borderlands Partnership Board approved £5.714m of Government funding for Cumberland Council and Northumberland County Council to upgrade visitor facilities across the World Heritage Site. That figure covers two linked projects, not the Cumbrian VR and AR work alone, and only the Cumbrian project is described as using VR and AR. Together the projects span Ravenglass to Heddon-on-the-Wall as one continuous visitor route. Match funding is also being sought from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Cumbrian project.
