About

Hi, my name is Nia and I first started working as a guide in Wales in 2016. I was brought up in South Wales and still live here now, so am hugely lucky to have always had the coast and mountains within easy reach. I live by the sea with my family including my twin daughters, my ultra-running husband, and our two golden retrievers. I’m a qualified Mountain Leader, Lowland Leader, an Eryri and Bannau Brycheiniog Ambassador, and I hold the RLSS National Water Safety Management Level 3 qualification.

I started this company to help more people connect with nature, and discover Wales. I love spending as much time outdoors as possible; walking, swimming, camping, or preferably a combination of all, feeling most at home within nature, and I thrive on sharing this with my guests. I’m also a bit of a self-confessed map geek and I have huge enjoyment from passing the skills and knowledge that have helped me so much, on to others. As well as guiding, I love to write, have written for several outdoor publications, and am the author of guidebook Wild Swimming Walks - South Wales. All the experiences or courses advertised on this site are either led by me or with a small team of trusted co-leaders; we are here to guide and support you all the way!

Nia Lloyd Knott,

Director & Guide, Wild Trails Wales

Our Ethos

What does ‘wild’ mean to you? To us it’s a feeling; of being connected with nature, confident, calm and conscious of our place in the larger scheme of things.

At Wild Trails Wales we want to help you feel at home in nature, to connect with natural rhythms and seasons and to spend time in places that nourish the soul, whether it’s experiencing a quiet sunrise from a mountain top at dawn, watching seabirds and seals in a glistening emerald sea from high above on a wildflower-jewelled clifftop in spring, or walking under the light of the full moon or stars on a cold autumn night.

We love the opportunity to help you reach a summit or complete a personal challenge, and to create amazing journeys for you to discover the in-between; those nooks and crannies of the mountains, coast and valleys that are so often rushed through with barely a moment’s thought. We love to wander among the sheep folds, follow ancient trails, sit on the shores of rarely-visited lakes, walk below crags and in between boulders, and venture into hidden sandy coves.

We approach these places with a sense of wonder which we love to share with others. What connections do humans have with this place now and in the past? Which animals live here? How were the rocks formed? What can the plants we see tell us about this place?

And we don’t want your journey to end with one trip. We hope you’ll leave us inspired, with new confidence and excited to explore more. We’d love nothing more than to help you develop the skills to get out and plan your own adventures.

We strongly believe that everyone benefits from spending time in wild places, and that access should be for all. Please, come as you are and know that you will be welcome and valued. We also know through experience that there can be barriers to getting outdoors, and that our role is to help remove these so that everyone can come home to nature. Having the equipment you need to keep you safe is often one of the first concerns, so we make sure we have plenty of spares for you to borrow. We ensure a welcoming atmosphere for everyone; our guests have diverse backgrounds, religions, races and political beliefs. We insist on respect between fellow explorers and embrace the differences and commonalities in our global community. If you feel you have barriers to access on any of our advertised trips please get in touch as we would love to help you.

We recognise our responsibilities to the beautiful wild places and communities we visit in keeping them special, and we are more than happy to discuss local environmental and societal issues with anyone who is curious – we ask all our guests to travel responsibly.

For our guests, we pride ourselves on being a professional company, our assurances to you make sure you know you can rely on us.