England’s World Cup endeavours haven’t been a complete washout. In anticipation of the World Cup, the UK’s Royal Geographical Society created a website, called Hidden Journeys to encourage South Africa-bound England fans to learn more about the continents they would be crossing en route.
Hidden Journeys allows users to explore the lands below international flights paths to gain a greater understanding of the cultures they are flying over.
The site plots a course along an interactive Google Maps application that lets people click on images, maps and aerial photographs of the people and places directly underneath the London-based flights. The images are grouped into three sets: those taken at ground level, those taken at 1,000 metres and those taken at 10,000 metres.
Flight paths from London to Vancouver, London to Johannesburg and London to New Delhi are currently covered.
The site allows users to upload their own photographs and pictures to the website. The society hopes to add new flight routes to the site in the future.