Runnymede Explored

Runnymede Explored offer visitors to Runnymede, Ankerwycke, the Commonwealth Airforces Memorial, and Egham a range of interpretation trails to help everyone enjoy the site and learn more about the legacy of Magna Carta. The app will also help those not able to get to the meadows in person to find out what makes the area so special, and perhaps to plan a future trip.

The history trail explores why was Magna Carta sealed in Runnymede and how this has led to the meadows becoming a site for memorials to freedom and democracy. It also looks at what happened to the priory and mansion in Ankerwycke on the other side of the river, and at how Egham town has adapted over the centuries. The geography trail looks at changing land use in Runnymede and the meanings the area has come to hold for local people and international visitors, while the politics trail traces the role Magna Carta has played in the development of constitutions and bills of rights in the United Kingdom and internationally, in particular looking at how other Commonwealth countries have made use of Magna Carta as a foundational document.

The walking guide features the voice of presenter John Waite telling the story of Magna Carta’s legacy for human rights and for democracy, and the arts trail offers examples of how King John and Magna Carta have been represented in plays, novels, poems and portraits, and the ways in which these portrayals have changed over time and place.

The children’s trail poses a series of riddles and challenges to test young people’s powers of observation and reasoning and the nature trail selects some easy to recognise species that families may encounter on a visit, as well as explaining why this landscape is so precious for wildlife. Finally, a field guide offers help in identifying over 100 species that make Runnymede and Ankerwycke their home.

The app has been written by students and staff at Royal Holloway, with support from the National Trust, Surrey County Council, Runnymede Pleasure Grounds Trust, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and Surrey County Councillor Marisa Heath.