Bramble: GPS story maps for country estates, historic gardens and hotels
GPS story maps for country estates, gardens & hotels
Stories that find your guests as they wander.
Guests open a map of your grounds on their phone and set off. When they reach a place with a story behind it, the story appears.
Thirty days free, no card. Or have us walk your grounds and write it for you.
Scan to trythe demo
Most guests see a fraction of your grounds.
They walk the main path, see the famous view, and head back for tea. The rest goes unvisited because nobody was there to point things out.
Bramble is a map of your estate with its stories built in. You write up the places worth stopping for, or we walk the grounds and write them with you, and guests find them on their phones as they wander. It runs in the browser, so there is nothing for anyone to install.
How your map gets made.
You know the grounds and their history. There are two ways to get that onto a map, and they end in the same place. You can build it yourself, with thirty days free and no card, from £1,500 a year or £150 a month plus VAT. Or we can walk the grounds and write the stories with you. Both are priced here.
The stops get chosen
You place each one on a map of your own grounds without leaving your desk, and only go out for something the map cannot show you. Or we walk the estate with you and pick them out together: some are obvious, like the ancient oak, and others only you know about.
The stories get written
You write them yourself in the portal, at your own pace, with a photograph for each. Or you tell us the history and the folklore and we write them up, photograph them and record the narration.
Guests explore
Guests scan a QR code, wherever you put it, and the map opens in their browser. As they walk, each story appears when they reach its spot.
No route to follow, no group to keep up with.
Guests choose their own way through the grounds, and the stories are waiting wherever they end up.
Works in any browser
The map opens from a QR code, a link, or the guest WiFi portal. Guests are looking at their first story before they've had time to put their phone away.
Stories find you
The map follows guests as they walk. When they arrive at a point of interest, its story unlocks.
Read it, look at it, or listen to it
Each stop can hold a photograph, a written piece and a narrated recording. Guests read or listen as they like.
Changes with the seasons
When the bluebells come up or the lambs arrive, the map can say so. You change the stories and routes whenever you need, or we do it for you.
What your guests actually see.
This is what a guest sees when they reach a spot: a photograph, a few lines about what they are looking at, and the option to listen. It arrives on its own, the moment they get there.
Thornfield Hall is the fictional estate we use to show how Bramble works. Try the demo and walk it from wherever you are.
Where a Bramble map belongs.
Bramble suits any property where the grounds are part of the stay. If guests already ask about the history of the place, a story map will earn its keep.
Country Estates & Hotels
Give guests a reason to walk past the terrace. An afternoon in the grounds can become the part of the stay they talk about at dinner.
Gardens & Historic Houses
Retire the laminated map. Visitors can follow the planting through the seasons and hear about the people who made the garden.
Vineyards & Farm Estates
Walk visitors through the vines before the tasting. The story of the site and the season makes the glass at the end mean more.
Written for a particular kind of place: historic gardens, wedding venues, farm parks and attractions and country hotels.
Common questions.
What is a story map?+
A map of your grounds that guests open on their phone. Each place with a story behind it is marked, and when a guest walks up to one the story opens: a photograph, a few lines, and narration if you have recorded it. It is not the same thing as an ArcGIS “story map”, which is a web article read at a desk. This one is walked. Read more about story maps.
Do guests need to download an app?+
No. Bramble story maps open in any mobile browser. Guests scan a QR code at reception, tap a link, or find it via the guest WiFi portal. There is nothing to install.
How do the stories appear as people walk?+
When a guest opens the story map on their phone, the map uses their device's GPS to show where they are. As they walk, the story of each place opens on its own when they come within about thirty metres of it, with photographs, writing and optional recorded narration. They can also tap any pin to open its story directly, which is what happens indoors, under heavy tree cover, or if someone would rather not share their location.
What types of properties use Bramble?+
Bramble is designed for country estates and hotels, historic gardens and houses, vineyards and farm estates. Any property where the grounds are part of the guest experience and there are stories worth discovering.
Can the map be updated seasonally?+
Yes. Your grounds change through the year and so can your map. You can swap in spring wildflower routes, autumn colour walks, or winter wildlife trails. Content can be updated at any time without guests needing to do anything differently.
How is a Bramble story map created?+
Two ways, and they end in the same map. You can build it yourself through a web portal: place the stops on a map of your own grounds, write a story for each one and choose the photographs, with thirty days free to try it and no card asked for. Or we walk the grounds with you, pick the places worth a story, and write them up with photographs and recorded narration from what you tell us. Either way, guests scan a QR code and the map opens in their browser.
What happens if there is no mobile signal on the grounds?+
Most of it keeps working, and it is worth being exact about which part. GPS itself needs no signal, so the map can always place a guest, and once it has loaded the stops and their stories are saved to the phone and keep working as they walk out of coverage, which is often exactly where the best views are. Photographs and narration need signal the first time they appear, and the map will not open from cold in a dead spot, so put the QR code where there is a bar or two: the gate, the car park, reception.
How much does a Bramble story map cost?+
Build the map yourself for £1,500 a year, or £150 a month, plus VAT, per published map, with thirty days free to start, no card asked for, and thirty days to change your mind once you subscribe. That guarantee is on the self-managed subscription. If you would rather we walked your grounds and wrote the stories for you, that starts at £5,000 plus VAT, with £7,500 typical for an estate of ten to a hundred acres, and then about £4,500 a year; a done-for-you build is quoted and agreed before we start and carries no guarantee. See the full pricing.
How is Bramble different from ArcGIS StoryMaps?+
ArcGIS StoryMaps builds scrolling web articles that combine maps and media on a screen. Bramble is a different thing: a map guests open on their phone while they walk your grounds, where each story appears when they physically reach the spot. One is read at a desk, the other is walked. See the full comparison.
What working with us is like.
We are a small team taking on a handful of founding estates this year, so every map is made with care and shaped around the place it belongs to.
We do the heavy lifting, or you do
Share what you know and we will walk the grounds, choose the spots, write the stories, record the audio and build the map. Or do it yourself and keep the whole thing in your hands. Both give you the same map; the difference is only who writes it.
Your stories stay yours
The words, the photographs and the map are yours. Nothing is locked away, and you are free to take your content with you.
Start small, grow later
A handful of well-told stories is a strong beginning. You can add more spots, more seasons and new trails whenever you like, at your own pace.
A real point of contact
You deal with the people who walk your grounds, not a call centre or a template. We usually reply within a day or two.
Your grounds have stories. Give your guests a way to find them.
Two ways from here, ending in the same map. Start one yourself now: thirty days free, no card, and the map is live from the first minute. Or tell us about your grounds and we will build it with you.
Thank you.
Your enquiry is on its way. We'll reply within a day or two.
Get in touch at hello@bramblemaps.com