Geocaching Adventure Lab as a self-guided heritage trail: the gate (2026)

Harvested 2026-10-29 20:58Z (skills harvest). Topic: a free, app-based trail for the /wales/ walk. This is a growth and discovery channel, not a sales channel.

The facts (with sources)

• What it is: a free app from Geocaching HQ (Groundspeak) for self-guided tours. It has 50,000+ public Adventures worldwide. Each stop shows text, images or video and asks a question that unlocks once the player is in range. For geocachers each stop counts as a find, which is why cachers seek Adventures out. There is no physical container, and stops can even be indoors (geocaching.com).
• Who can build one: the builder needs an active Premium membership (US$39.99/yr or $6.99/month, payments.geocaching.com). Self-service builder credits started 23 Jul 2024: one credit every 90 days, and only with no unused credit and no unpublished Adventure (Geocaching blog, 5 Aug 2024). One credit makes one Adventure of up to 5 locations (Geocaching forums). The Help Centre also lists an "Adventure Lab Free Trial" support category and "GeoTours" business partnerships. Not checked: their terms or price.
• Rules: players must physically visit each stop. Content must suit all ages and cause no harm to plants, animals or property, and local laws apply. Most importantly, "you cannot require players to pay a fee for a product, service, or access", so no paywall to finish (Adventure Lab guidelines, search snippet). HQ's own advice: a mobile signal at every stop, all stops walkable within 2 hours or less, multiple-choice questions, and a test link shared before going live.
• Promotion kit: each Adventure gets its own QR code for posters, brochures and social posts. HQ supplies poster templates and social tiles in 1200×630, 1080×1350 and 1600×900, plus a "Powered by Adventure Lab" logo under its logo rules (adventure.geocaching.com).
• Evidence it draws people: a 2023 peer-reviewed study (Mydłowska) counted 804 Adventure Lab caches visited by over 100,000 people in its study area, by the paper's own figures (abstract only, full text not read). A 2017 Ljubljana master's thesis (Corrieu) studied geocaching in cultural heritage tourism with case studies. No UK heritage case study with visitor numbers was found.

How to do it

1. Pick up to 5 public stops that are free to access, legal to stand at and have phone signal. Never private land.
2. For each stop write: a short neutral record line (dated, sourced), one photo we hold the rights to, and one multiple-choice question whose answer is visible on site.
3. In the description: parking, access and duration. One line pointing to the walk page is fine. Nothing may be required to buy.
4. Build it in the Adventure Lab Builder, share the test link with 2–3 testers, then publish.
5. Promote: the QR code goes on the /wales/ walk page and the printable handout, plus a carousel using HQ's 1080×1350 tile.
6. Measure: completions show in the builder. Add a ?ref=adventurelab tag on the walk page link. Kill rule: under 25 completions in 90 days means no second Adventure.

How we apply it to Cedwyn

• GATE: NO for the farmhouse. It's private property, and we have a no-addresses rule. Never a stop at or near it.
• Possible YES, as a PROPOSAL only: a 5-stop "Llandough–Penarth records walk" on public ground taken from the existing /wales/ walk (for example the Lavernock stop, 13 May 1897), with the same corrected dates as the live walk text. Bilingual stop text (Welsh first) fits the guideline on content suitable for all ages.
• Blockers:
• (a) It needs a paid Premium account, US$39.99/yr. Our zero-spend rule means Tab can't buy it. It happens only if the project lead already has Premium or states go to the spend, or if the free-trial route turns out to cover building. Check that route before asking him.
• (b) It's a public listing under the business's name, so it needs the project lead's GO.
• (c) Photos must be ours or CC-licensed with credit. No family likenesses, no insignia.
• Public wording: neutral dated facts only (banned words list applies) and never the project lead's name.
• Timing: not before spring 2027 (walking season). If approved, draft by 1 Mar 2027 alongside the Libraries Week pitch. Low priority.

Sources

• geocaching.com
• adventure.geocaching.com
• geocaching.com (5 Aug 2024)
• forums.geocaching.com (5 locations per credit, snippet)
• geocaching.com (guidelines; quote from search snippet, the page renders with JavaScript)
• payments.geocaching.com (US$39.99/yr, $6.99/month)
• bibliotekanauki.pl (Mydłowska 2023, abstract figures)
• cek.ef.uni-lj.si (Corrieu 2017 thesis)

Raw Markdown: geocaching-adventure-lab-heritage-trail-gate-premium-5-stops.md · version and changes: changelog · machine index: agents.json