A new mobile phone app to help Cotswolds visitors get the most out of their time in the area has been launched.

The app is the first of a new series of Map and Guide apps being developed by Pocket Places Ltd and provides an alternative to traditional paper leaflets.

Featuring a tourist map of the area, top visitor attractions, places to stay and details about many of the Cotswolds’ towns and villages, the mobile phone app takes a proven formula in tourist information guides and brings it bang up to date for 21st Century technology.

Visitors can download the Cotswolds Map and Guide app before heading out to explore the area, and they can access the information wherever they are – regardless of whether they have a mobile phone signal.

The Cotswolds Map and Guide app includes details about tourist venues, such as historic houses, farm parks and museums.

It also features information about many of the different towns and villages in the area, including Bourton on the Water, Burford, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Gloucester, Stow on the Wold, Oxford and Stroud, as well as street plans of major places.

In addition, the app includes details about where to stay – from bed and breakfast accommodation to hotels.

“The Cotswolds Map and Guide app is the ideal companion for anyone visiting the Cotswolds or who’d like to find out more about what’s available in the area,” said app developer Mark Oakden.

“We’ve taken the tried and tested method of a tourist map and guide book, and turned it into a mobile phone application which provides a wealth of useful information in the palm of your hand. We believe it’s the first mobile phone app of its kind for the Cotswolds.

“Because the information is available offline, it’s ideal for an area such as the Cotswolds where mobile signals can be intermittent.”

The app also links to useful information such as train timetables and local weather details, which can be accessed where data connection is available.

Featuring more than 200 photographs, the Cotswolds Map and Guide app is available from iTunes priced £0.69. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Details about the Cotswolds Map and Guide app can be seen here http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/cotswolds-map-and-guide/id536569717?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Visit www.pocketplaces.co.uk for more information about the developer behind the app.

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk