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Welcome to VirtualMountains.co.uk
Virtual Mountains.co.uk allows you to explore a small (but growing) number of walking and scrambling routes in the mountains of the UK and in Europe. This is achieved by linking many 360 degree panoramic photographic images in a series of walk throughs. Simply clicking on the path ahead will take you on to the next stage of the tour. Float the cursor over mountain peaks or other items of interest to read their identity, and watch your progress on an optional map.
To view these interactive virtual reality tours, you must have Apple's QuickTime installed on your computer. QuickTime can be downloaded free of charge from www.apple.com/quicktime. A broadband internet connection is desirable.
Select venue from the list opposite or from the Google Map window below.
Building this collection of virtual tours has taken many years. During this time I photographed with different cameras, experimented with hand held photography, monopods and tripods. The stitching software from Smokey City Design has improved, and so has the JavaScript that I've written to control the tours. So as time moved on so has the quality of the tours; picture quality, wider vertical field of few, automatic panning and zooming, embedding sound, video, and Google Maps, to name the most striking.
Older tour have not been updated, perhaps I'll get round to it someday. So for the time being the Dinara tour represents the pinnacle of www.virtualmountains.co.uk development.
Where next?
I have accumulated a back log of photos from trips to Snowdonia, The English Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, the Rila Mountains in Bulgaria, Andorra and Bosnia. So in time I hope to upload extended tours over Snowdonia’s main summits, an alternative route up Scafell Pike in the Lake District, an alternative route up (or down) from Musala in Bulgaria, and the same for Coma Pedrosa in Andorra. But first I’ll be working to complete the tour of Maglić, Bosnia and Herzegovina's highest summit, hopefully complete by Easter 2012.
Version History
You will notice that there is a reference to different tour versions with each link. Here's a brief summary of what each version adds.
Version 6
1) Introduces synchronised BingMaps aka Microsoft Virtual Earth Maps. Global coverage at a high resolution level is not so good as Google maps, but has the advantage of offering 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey maps of the UK, great for UK tours.
2) Improves support for Firefox.
Version 5
1) Introduces the new feature of zooming in on a hotspot or path before loading next location. I.E. gives the impression of moving forwards towards the next location.
2) Introduces a new auto pan routine which stops rotating at correct point and does not try to realign if moved. This routine also throws up fewer errors, but does need improvements to make smoother.
Version 4
1) Introduces synchronised Google Maps and Google Earth (plug-in required).
2) Introduces Video when moving from location to location.
3) Displays percentage of video or QTVR movie loaded, and waits until all loaded before rotating QTVR panorama and displaying location details. (Partly retro-fitted to some earlier tours)
Version 3
1) Introduces loading of panorama at viewpoint as faced when approached from previous location and then rotates to viewpoint of most likely exit, i.e. looking at the path one must follow next.
Version 2
1) Introduces sound effects at locations. Not all locations will have sounds, this is mainly reserved from streams, rivers, etc.
Version 1
1) Initial version.
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