THE official opening of a new high-tech visitor centre on the Malvern Hills was a success, say organisers, with more than 250 visitors coming to find out about the area’s geological history.

The Malvern Hills GeoCentre is the official visitor centre for the 109-mile Geopark Way from Bridgnorth to Gloucester and was opened by the path’s president Chris Darmon.

The centre houses interactive exhibits including iPads mounted in bespoke wooden stands, created by local carpenter Christopher Preston, and a video wall showing some of the flora and fauna of the Malvern Hills in vibrant colours.

On the launch day, visitors were able to examine fossils and rocks provided by the Earth Heritage Trust, whose experts were on hand to answer questions and identify specimens that people brought along.

Younger would-be geologists painted fossil replicas and coloured in land and seascapes, and families visited Cafe H2O to sample its refreshments.

Dr Adrian Burden, of Key IQ, which operates the centre, said: “The use of tablet and video panel technology offers not just an accessible medium to disseminate information but a means of updating and continuously improving the content.

“As such, we will be rolling out new material in partnership with our collaborators, and even during the open day we had plenty of ideas and offers from local visitors with interesting content to display.”

The centre is located in Walwyn Road at the Wyche, on the western side of the hills.