Virtual Reality Travel around Scotland

Experience Scotland from your armchair

People across the world can now instantly walk through the prehistoric village of Skara Brae in Orkney, soar high over Edinburgh Castle like a bird, journey into the depths of The Hollow Mountain of Ben Cruachan and experience the Northern Lights all from the comfort of their own home.

This follows the release of a new virtual reality app from VisitScotland called ScotlandVR which allows people, wherever they are in the world, to be immersed in Scotland’s attractions.

The app, which is available for all Android and Apple users to download free on Google Play and Apple Store, features 360 degree imagery and footage.

Users start their journey in a virtual glen complete with Highland cow, crackling fire and bellowing stag. From there, they can jump into a map of Scotland and experience 26 unique attractions covering every region of the country.

The whole environment can be experienced in Stereoscopic 3D when used with a Google Cardboard virtual reality headset, in 360 degree view using gyroscope phone technology or by touchscreen also in phone mode.

As part of the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, VisitScotland challenged young talent from Scotland’s academia to create an exciting, interactive digital product designed to inspire and motivate people to visit Scotland.

The winners of the competition were a team from Edinburgh Napier University, led by Professor David Benyon and Dr Oli Mival, who developed the concept for an innovative app.

The final app was created by Edinburgh-based digital and creative agency, Whitespace, in association with VisitScotland and Edinburgh Napier University.

The app launches with 26 attractions including

Abbotsford House, Robert Burns Birthplace Museum,

Cairngorms National Park, Calanais Standing Stones,

Edinburgh Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, The Falkirk Wheel, Loch Lomond, Forth Bridges

The Kelpies and Skara Brae in Orkney

Research shows that 60 per cent of searches for destination information come from mobile devices. This, coupled with virtual reality experiencing growth worldwide (forecasted numbers of VR users between now and 2018 set to grow by 400 per cent to 170 million) creates a prime opportunity for Scotland to be discovered in a new way.