Dornoch Ghost Tour
Help with the walk
Six stops, an hour on foot, and a story that starts by itself when you arrive. If something isn't behaving, work down this page — and if that doesn't sort it, write to us and a person will reply.
Email us
We answer from Dornoch, usually within a day. If you're standing on the route right now and stuck, say which stop you're at and we'll be quick.
The story didn't start
This is the one that catches most people. Work down the line — stop as soon as the sound comes back.
-
Make sure you've actually arrived
Open the map. The glowing marker is your next stop.
The story begins once you're within about forty metres of it. It won't start early, and it won't start from across the street.
-
Let the app see where you are
Go to
Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services, find Dornoch Ghost Tour, and set it to While Using the App with Precise Location switched on.Without precise location, the app can't tell one stop from the next.
-
Check the silent switch and the volume
The small switch on the left edge of the phone can mute the tour. Flick it forward, then press volume up a few times while the story is meant to be playing.
-
Check where the sound is going
Your phone may still be handing audio to a car stereo, a speaker at the hotel, or an earbud sitting in your other pocket.
Tap the AirPlay icon on the player and choose the device you're actually wearing.
-
Start it by hand
Tap the stop on the map and press play. Starting on arrival is a convenience, not the only way in — everything works by hand as well.
-
Read it instead
Every story is written out in full underneath the player. The whole tour works with the sound off, which is also the answer if you've forgotten headphones.
Still nothing?
Email us and include these four things, so we can find the fault instead of guessing:
- Which stop you were at
- Whether the map showed you standing on that stop
- Your phone model and iOS version
- Whether other sound plays on the phone — music, a video, anything
Questions we get
Cost and booking
No. Walking the tour is free, and booking a guide through the app is free too.
Guides are tipped in cash, handed over on the day if you enjoyed yourself. The app never takes a payment and has nothing to buy inside it.
Yes, through the app. Guides are local, the walk takes about ninety minutes, and parties are capped so everyone can hear.
Booking costs nothing; tipping is cash on the day and entirely up to you.
The walk itself
About a mile, about an hour at an easy pace. It's a loop that starts and finishes in the town centre, so you can break off for a coffee and pick it up again — the tour waits.
Mostly pavement.
- The churchyard is grass and gravel, uneven in the wet.
- The Meadows is soft after rain, with a firmer path along the edge.
- There's a gentle slope up to the viewing point, where there are benches.
Each stop tells you what to expect before you get there.
No. Walk them in any order, skip one, or do half today and half tomorrow. Nothing is locked and there's no progress to lose.
Phone, signal and privacy
Not for the walk. Open the app once on wi-fi before you set off and the stories are held on your phone.
Location works from GPS, which needs no signal at all.
Yes, and we'd rather you did — it's a nicer walk with the phone in a pocket. Playback carries on, and the lock screen controls pause, skip and rewind as normal.
Nowhere. It's used on the phone to place you on the route and to start each story at the right moment.
We don't send it anywhere, don't store it, and don't build any record of where you walked.
There's no account and no sign-in, so there's nothing of yours for us to hold. Deleting the app removes everything.
Yes. Open any stop and press play, wherever you are. Starting on arrival is the only part that needs you to be in Dornoch.
Updates and route changes
Stories, guides and opening details come from our website each time the app opens with a connection. Close the app fully, connect to wi-fi, and open it again to pull the latest version.
A closed path, a gate that's now locked, a business that's moved — tell us. We keep the route current, and walkers spot things before we do.
Walking sensibly
Parts of the route follow public roads with no pavement.
Every stop is viewed from public ground. Please don't go into gardens or onto private property.
Dornoch is a working town, not a set. Keep the volume down after dark.
The route is uneven in places.
