Do The Hullywood Trail on the ‘What Was Here?’ App
(Download the app for free: Google Play , App Store (Apple) )
Since its launch in 2019, the ‘What Was Here?’ app has acted as a virtual ‘time machine’ to help transport people back to scenes from the past with geo-located historic images and maps. In particular its augmented reality ‘Camera View’ function has allowed users to stand in a location where an historic image was originally photographed and use an overlay of that image to fade in and out between the past and present scene using their device camera.
This immersive perspective on history has been used on over 30 heritage trails on the app, and we’ve enjoyed the privilege of working with over 20 different partners on producing these experiences. So, when Visit Hull made an approach to have a ‘Hullywood’ Trail hosted on the app; this offered an exciting new development that we just couldn’t refuse!
Over the years, the streets of Kingston upon Hull have been used for some very high profile movies and tv programmes, and a recent upsurge in film crews coming to Hull has led to it becoming affectionately known as ‘Hullywood’. Large-scale productions such as ‘Enola Holmes 2’, ‘The Personal History Of David Copperfield’, ITV’s ‘Victoria’, and Apple TV’s ‘Blitz’, have all descended upon the streets to transform them into other worlds for the filming of their scenes; a source of great excitement for everyone in the city, and a chance to catch a glimpse of the stars!
Walking in the footsteps of those stars, at the locations where scenes from famous movies and tv programmes were shot, is fast becoming a popular tourism activity. Known as ‘set jetting’, this lets people re-live those moments when the scenes were first captured and share the same physical space as where their favourite stars once stood.
Now, with the ‘What Was Here?’ app, it’s possible to delve back in time and re-create former film locations by embarking on the ‘Hullywood’ Trail from Visit Hull. Using superb photographs sourced from members of the community who captured the filming in progress; Visit Hull have assembled a collection of images that represent a number of recent mainstream movies and tv shows that were partly shot in the city, and, with the ‘Camera View’ on ‘What Was Here?’, trail-goers can transport themselves back to when the filming took place by comparing the present-day streetscape with the image of the film-set.
Most of the action takes place on High Street in the city’s Museums Quarter, but you can also find images at the Paragon Interchange (railway station), and areas around Bowlalley Lane and Land of Green Ginger. These places have all previously been transformed into various scenes ranging from Victorian markets to wartime London. Currently, there are 36 different locations for you to choose from but watch this space for new additions as more images are contributed to the trail. You can either visit all of these locations or just the choose the ones that particularly interest you; perhaps you have a penchant for World War II movies, so you want to see where ‘Blitz’ was filmed, or maybe you’re a die-hard fan of ITV’s ‘Victoria’ and want to make a bee line for those places.
There are also a few multiple-choice quiz questions in there, just for fun, to test your tv and film knowledge! So, if you love the movies then we hope you’ll love this trail, and even if you’re not a movie buff, the immersive nature of the Hullywood experience on the ‘What Was Here?’ app makes it a fascinating way to wander the city and embrace the rich heritage of its streets. We’re so delighted to have Visit Hull’s trail on ‘What Was Here?’, so ‘Lights, Camera, Action!’, download the free ‘What Was Here?’ app now and get yourself on the Hullywood Trail!
(Download the app for free: Google Play , App Store (Apple) or scan the QR code below. Once in the app, search under ‘Trails‘ and scroll down the list for the ‘Hullywood Trail’.
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