The South West of England's four unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites have been brought together by a new website, making them even more accessible to everyone.

Launched today, the World Heritage South West site   has been developed in partnership by the coordinators of the four UNESCO sites in the region: the City of Bath, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon and Stonehenge and Avebury.

These outstanding cultural and natural sites illustrate the common heritage of mankind.  Countries signed up to the World Heritage Convention make an international commitment to safeguard these sites for future generations.

The new website aims to honour this promise by helping people visitors from around the world to reach and travel between the sites using sustainable modes of transport.

The website is based around an interactive sustainable transport map, using Google Maps, which provides information about the sites and how to get there by alternative means to the car, be it by train, bus or bike.

The map also includes itineraries, walks and information about green accommodation and nearby attractions.

The South West's World Heritage Sites help give it truly global appeal as a destination.  The sites range from the wild and intriguing Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape that sparked the industrial revolution to the 95 miles of spectacular and beautiful Jurassic Coast, covering 185 million years of the Earth's history.

The City of Bath is an architectural gem, whether exploring ‘what the Romans did for us' or the Georgian splendour of its streets, bridges and crescents, while the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury still enthral and amaze visitors by the ingenuity of their creators.

The new website is the culmination of the World Heritage Site teams working together since 2006 to promote the four sites in the South West and raise awareness of World Heritage in general.

The three-year project has been led by the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site team and was partly funded by the South West Regional Development Agency. All the World Heritage Sites have provided some part-funding towards it.

The website is officially launched today at the Local Authority World Heritage Forum at the House of Lords, where Baroness Kay Andrews OBE will address the meeting.

Sally King, Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site visitor manager and project manager for the website, said:

"I am delighted that the new South West World Heritage Sites interactive sustainable transport map is now available.

"We hope to make it easy for people to discover ways of visiting and exploring our unique natural and cultural heritage in the South West without travelling by car, thereby helping to protect our environment and enjoying themselves in the process."