Running from 12 September to 8 November, the trail invites families and residents to discover BookBenches created by local schools, artists and community groups, each celebrating stories and creativity across the city.

Brighton-based software agency DabApps has worked with Amaze to create the digital experience that sits alongside the physical trail.

Rather than simply producing a map of sculpture locations, the aim was to give people another reason to explore. Using the Story Trail app, visitors can find nearby BookBenches, follow the trail across the city and enter the unique code found at each location to unlock its digital content.

The response has already been encouraging! More than 7,000 BookBenches were unlocked through the app during the trail's first week.

For DabApps, the project has been an interesting example of technology playing a supporting role in a predominantly physical experience.

“We wanted the technology to make exploring the trail easier and more engaging, without becoming the focus of the experience itself,” says Cat Baker-Bassett, Managing Director at DabApps.

“The lovely thing about Story Trail is that the app ultimately encourages people to put their shoes on and go somewhere. They're discovering art, exploring parts of Brighton & Hove they might not normally visit, and engaging with stories created by people in their own community.”

The project also reflects a relationship between DabApps and Amaze that stretches back more than 12 years. Over that time, the two Brighton organisations have worked together on a number of digital projects supporting Amaze's work with families with disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs.

DabApps has also sponsored one of this year's sculptures, Hedgerow Haven, created by artist Danni Smith and inspired by the wildlife and plant species found in Sussex hedgerows.

As people have started using the trail in the real world, the digital experience has continued to evolve too. Recent updates to the app include showing a visitor's current location on the trail map and allowing them to quickly recenter the map around where they are, making it easier to decide which BookBench to hunt for next.

It's a relatively small piece of technology behind a much bigger community project, but that's rather the point. At its best, digital technology doesn't need to be the destination. Sometimes its job is simply to help people discover what's already around them.

Amaze Story Trail runs across Brighton & Hove until 8 November 2026.