The virtual world of taking a walk around Britain

In the virtual world we live in our computers are becoming our eyes and ears. We can find any piece of information instantly at the touch of a button, we can even avoid stomping around the shops by doing it online. One man in Doncaster is now making it possible to take a virtual walk around Britain without going outside.

A knock on the front door in a leafy suburb of Doncaster, through the front door, up the stairs and turn right on the landing. There you will find the office of Walks Around Britain, which is also home to Andrew White and his family in Cantley.

Andrew has previously produced videos which feature vintage buses and trains, selling DVD's online. Now he is working on a brand new project - Walks Around Britain. But his idea of creating virtual walking tours is something he has thought about for a while, "I spoke to friends and people I knew about the idea about six years ago and they said that they couldn't imagine it. And then the BBC's Julia Bradbury did a series of walks and it became quite popular."

Since the beginning of the year [2010] Andrew has toured various locations around the country, filming the tours and editing the footage at home, producing mini tours which can be watched on the internet. Andrew talks about the idea behind the short films,

"The idea is that people get out there once they have seen one of these walking videos. It is an opportunity for people to see what is available around the country. It might be somewhere you could travel to and go and see for yourself. Online you can watch a walk, see a map, get information which might influence people to get information and do it for themselves. If people go out and do one then we have achieved something."

Andrew White who films walks around Britain

Andrew's passion for this project stems from his own love of walking with his family.

But as the name of the website suggests the walks aren't just in South Yorkshire but across Britain. Recently Andrew has filmed a walk in the Peak District and also city centres, such as Newcastle. But as Andrew is based in South Yorkshire he cannot ignore his own surroundings and plans to release more walks which feature places such as Bradfield, Wharncliffe Side and Thurnscoe, among others.

The website is self funded by Andrew and free to use, meaning you don't have to subscribe or register to use the website.

Click here to visit the Walks Around Britain website