Show visitors what used to stand where they're standing. We build augmented reality (AR) experiences that visitors open on their own phone or tablet by scanning a QR code on an interpretation board. There's no app download: the AR runs in the phone's browser. The board stays as it is, and the AR adds the part of the story that can't be seen on the ground.
VRCraftworks is an immersive studio based in Brighton, building AR and VR since 2014. Our heritage AR experience at Burnham Beeches lets visitors see an Iron Age hillfort, medieval woodland and a WWII army depot on the same spot. It has been live since November 2023.
Why use AR at a heritage site?
Some of the most important places are the hardest to read. Earthworks are hidden under trees, buildings have long gone, and nobody wants new structures on a protected site. AR solves this without touching the ground:
Show what's gone. Reconstructions appear around the visitor, at full scale, from their own viewpoint.
Layer the timeline. Visitors switch between periods and see how one place changed over centuries.
Bring it to life with sound. Period soundscapes make a scene feel inhabited.
Work with what you have. The experience launches from a QR code on your existing or new interpretation boards, on visitors' own devices. There's no hardware to buy or staff.
Reach people beyond the site. The same link works anywhere, so schools, local groups and people who can't visit can explore it too.
Protect the site. People can explore a view or a structure without walking over sensitive ground.
What we do
AR trails and interpretation boards
We design the experience around your boards and your route. A QR code on each board puts visitors straight into the right scene at the right viewpoint, with nothing to type and nothing to install. One board can host a single scene, or a series of boards can form an AR trail across a site. Because each scene has its own link, you can also share it on your website, in newsletters or in the classroom.
Time-travel reconstructions
We build the scenes in Unity: landscapes, buildings, people, animals and vehicles, based on your archaeologists' and historians' interpretation. We match the style to the evidence. Where the record is detailed, as with Burnham Beeches' WWII depot, we reconstruct it accurately. Where it is thin, an illustrative style is more honest than false precision.
Sound and narration
We create period soundscapes and can add narration and extra information, so visitors can go as deep as they like.
No app download
Our heritage AR runs in the phone's browser. Visitors scan and go, with no app to download, and updates don't need app-store releases.
360 and VR tours for people who can't visit
For places some people can't reach, we also build 360° and VR tours. For the RNLI we created a VR tour of a Shannon-class lifeboat for under-18s and others who couldn't go on board.
Case study: Burnham Beeches, Beacons of the Past
For the City of London's Burnham Beeches, working with the National Trust and the Chilterns Conservation Board.
The site. Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire is a National Nature Reserve managed by the City of London Corporation. Under its trees lies Seven Ways Plain, an Iron Age hillfort that is now a Scheduled Monument. Woodland masks most of the earthworks, so it's easy to walk across the hillfort without realising it's there. The AR was commissioned as a lasting legacy of Beacons of the Past, the Chilterns Conservation Board's hillforts project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and partners.
The Seven Ways Plain board at Burnham Beeches. Board design: Chilterns Conservation Board.
What we built. We built the period scenes and their soundscapes. At the Seven Ways Plain interpretation board, visitors scan a QR code and hold up their phone or tablet. The view around them changes to show the same spot in three periods:
Iron Age: the hillfort in use, with houses, people and livestock.
Middle Ages: a working wood, with beech trees being cropped for timber and fuel.
World War II: an accurate reconstruction of the army vehicle depot that hid vehicles under the trees before the D-Day landings.
Each period has its own soundscape of sounds that would have been heard there at the time. It all runs in the browser, with no app to download.
Launch and use. The City of London launched the AR experience on 15 November 2023, demonstrating it to 60 pupils from Farnham Common Junior School, local councillors and project partners. It is still live. Visitors use it at the Seven Ways Plain board, and the same link works from anywhere.
“This new augmented reality app will leverage technology to provide a lasting legacy for the Beacons of the Past Project and will allow visitors to better understand the rich history of Burnham Beeches, now and in the future.”
More AR and visitor experiences we've built
Alongside Burnham Beeches, we have worked on several other heritage projects. Live examples of our wider AR and visitor work:
RNLI: a VR tour of the Shannon-class lifeboat, used with branded cardboard headsets for visitors at the lifeboat station.
Audible with Guardian Labs: newspaper AR that let readers hear audiobook samples by scanning a printed page.
Hilton: tablet AR that let event guests walk around furnished hotel rooms, including rooms not yet built.
Who it's for
Heritage sites, monuments and archaeological projects
National Landscapes (AONBs), conservation boards and nature reserves
Country parks, woodlands and council-run open spaces
Museums, historic houses and visitor attractions
Grant-funded heritage projects that need a lasting digital legacy
How a project works
Discovery. A short session, or a full Discovery Day, to agree the story, the locations and who your visitors are.
Content and interpretation. You bring the history and the evidence; we turn it into scenes and sound, with regular check-ins.
Prototype on your own phones. Your team tries early builds on their own devices, on site, and we refine from that feedback.
Boards and launch. We supply the QR codes and AR imagery for your board designers and test every board in place before launch.
Support. We keep the experience running after launch.
“We know the technology, you know your message and audience; in that overlap great teamwork produces award-winning results.”
Why VRCraftworks
Building AR and VR since 2014, in Unity, for public bodies, charities and global brands.
A heritage AR experience live at Burnham Beeches since 2023.
AR delivered for Hilton and for Audible with Guardian Labs.
Small, senior team: you deal directly with the people building your project.
Frequently asked questions
Do visitors need to download an app?
No. There's no app download; the experience runs in the phone's browser when visitors scan the QR code.
Does it only work on site?
No. Scanning the QR code on the board gives visitors the experience where it happened, but the same link opens it anywhere, at home or in a classroom.
Can you show a site in different periods?
Yes. At Burnham Beeches visitors switch between the Iron Age, the Middle Ages and World War II from the same spot. We build each period from your experts' interpretation.
Does it work in woodland or remote areas?
The experience loads over the visitor's mobile data, so we keep scenes light and check signal at each board during discovery.
Can you add sound and narration?
Yes. Every Burnham Beeches period has its own soundscape, and we can add narration and extra information to suit your interpretation plan.
Ready to bring your site's history to life?
Tell us about your site and the story you want visitors to see. We'll tell you honestly whether AR is the right tool.
Call 01273 569010