HISTORIANS will be able to follow the footsteps of captain Christopher Jones and the pilgrim fathers who set sail to America as the Mayflower 400 app launches.

Mayflower 400 UK has launched the Mayflower Self-Guided Tours app for Iphone and Android users.

The free app provides users with easy to follow self-guided tours of town, cities and villages connected to the Mayflower.

The Mayflower ship - captained by former Harwich resident Christopher Jones - is famous for taking the pilgrim fathers to America in 1620.

With the 400th anniversary of the voyage next September, the app is part of a host of projects for residents, visitors and tourists to enjoy as they make their way around Harwich.

The app makes use of GPS to notify users of nearby places of interest, allowing visitors to learn about the Mayflower pilgrims and explore all the stops on the Mayflower trail at their own pace, learning about the history of the pilgrims' journey through England and Holland and their final voyage on the Mayflower.

Charles Hackett, chief executive officer of Mayflower 400 said: "We've launched the app in the build-up to the Mayflower 400 anniversary year to help visitors get the best possible experience from visiting the sites that tell the stories of the pilgrims' origins.

"The app has been designed to take people on a Mayflower journey, telling the stories behind the places the pilgrims were from and where and why they travelled."

The app has guided tours of Harwich, Plymouth, Southampton, Rotherhithe, Dartmouth, Boston (Lincolnshire), Scooby and Babworth (Nottinghamshire), Austerfield and Doncaster, Immingham, Gainsborough, Worcestershire and Leiden (Holland).

Mr Hackett added: "There are excellent tour guides across the Mayflower destinations who can provide personal informative and insightful guided tours that really bring the story to life – the app provides visitors with the opportunity to take a tour in their own time."

The Mayflower Self-Guided Tours app also offers access to each of the walking guides offline, so that users can take the tours in their own time and in any order.

To download the free Mayflower self-guided tours app to your device, visit Mayflower400UK.org/app.