Proof that a place can be scenic as well as hi-tech lies within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, where the visitor centre at Grassington is providing a Bluetooth hotspot.

A special hi-tech unit has been installed at the Colvend Centre to enable people to download walks and information about the village onto their mobile phone or laptop, even when the building is closed.

The unit contains an application called “Discover Grassington” – a package of information about the area that includes self-guided river and village walks.

Meghann Hull, the national park’s interpretation officer, said: “This is the latest form of digital interpretation that gives people information without the need for physical panels and we hope it will be a real success.

"The great thing is that people can download it onto their mobile phone or PDA (personal digital assistant) by just standing on the Bluetooth ‘hotspot’ outside the national park centre and following the step-by-step instructions posted in the window.

“You can access it when the centre is closed, it needs no phone signal to work and it’s completely free. We are hoping to reach out to different audiences and provide interpretation in new ways. This is a pilot and, if all goes well, we hope to install more at the other national park centres in the future.”