ST DOGMAELS community is set to be the first in Pembrokeshire to present its heritage in an innovative way by using cutting edge iBeacon technology.

The St Dogmaels Abbey beacons will be delivered through the Culture Beacon app developed by the People’s Collection Wales in collaboration with Locly, north Wales based technology company.

The app gives users access to all sorts of heritage, archaeological and historical information.

The first training session on the Culture Beacons system was held recently at the Coach House and Hanes Llandoch volunteers were given a helping hand from Tom Pert, on-line development manager, People’s Collection Wales.

“We’ve had great fun learning about the Culture beacon app and realised that it is very easy to use. We are now in the process of developing the right content to give our visitors unique interactive experience.We will be trialling the iBeacons in the Café and the museum and are hoping to have a launch in the New Year," said Nia Siggins, the Heritage officer at Hanes Llandoch.

The St Dogmaels Abbey beacons pilot is supported through the Refreshing North Pembrokeshire project, run by the Fishguard Chamber of Trade and Tourism and funded by the Coastal Communities Fund.

Kate Lindley, RNP project manager, said: “We realise that the potential for use of iBeacons in heritage and tourism sector is enormous. The technology can be used to deliver high quality interactive heritage content, but also give a boost to the local economy. In future, the iBeacons can be linked with local businesses, restaurants and so on, and visitors will be able to find out information about local events, restaurant specials and offers for example, stay in the area for longer.

The Coach House and the Abbey have been chosen as a pilot project as is a relatively small site, where we can trial both, the indoor and outdoor versions. We are working closely with Hanes Llandoch and the People’s Collection Wales testing and evaluating the technology. We hope that the experience and lessons learnt as a result of this pilot will benefit other communities, businesses and organisations in Pembrokeshire that are currently exploring the iBeacons technology potential.”