U-Turn: Vandal Resistant Outdoor Listening Point Success

In 2011 we were honoured to provide one of our outdoor listening points for the new Richard Burton Trail, the popular U-Turn Round was a great fit for the trail which was created with the aim of developing scenic and useful cycling routes between Port Talbot, Cwmafan, Pontrhydyfen and the popular Afan Forest Park.

Developed by us to provide an outdoor listening point in areas without mains power, the U-Turn utilises wind-up power to play up to 8 different messages upon user selection. One focus for us during development was the need to create something robust with longevity that was as vandal and weather resistant as possible.

We therefore constructed the U-Turn using high quality durable hardware, special focus was given to the dynamo which is the heart of the device, as well as using a tough and robust stainless steel casing. The end result was an outdoor listening point that is fun to use but is also incredibly functional and rugged.

Sadly over a year after the official opening of the Richard Burton Trail, a number of the signs that mark the route (such as the new one pictured to the left) sharing interesting information regarding Richard Burton and the history surrounding the Welsh icon, have suffered quite severely from vandalism. However in a triumph of engineering the U-Turn Round has stood strong (despite repeated attempts from vandals as you can see in the image above), and is still providing users of the trail with excerpts of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, read by Richard Burton.

There is something quite moving about looking out over the Welsh valley that surrounds the trail, with Richard Burton’s fine Welsh theatrical voice emanating from the U-Turn. It makes the area quite magical.

Although the acts of vandalism along this picturesque route are troubling, we are very pleased with the fact our listening point designed to be vandal resistant, has apparently taken the best they have to offer and kept functioning! Lets hope we can say the same in another years time.