Our story

I was born in Wrexham and grew up in North Wales and after living in London & abroad for 30 years I returned back to live in the area.

I was blown away by the sheer beauty and raw wildness of Wales. I’d never appreciated the countryside in this way as a child and felt lucky to have (re)-discovered my home country in this way.

I caught Covid just over a year ago and to try and shake off the mental and physical effects of the virus I took a weekend trip to Bala in North Wales.

I met Ed from RYG Outdoor who took me and a few friends gorge walking, mountain biking and mine exploring. We all felt very much alive after the experiences and a seed had been planted in my mind.

I started thinking about how our outdoor, active & adventure experiences in Bala had really helped our mental and physical health and how much we’d all enjoyed them.

None of us had ever done anything like it and I started thinking more people should do more of these outdoor, active & adventure experiences.

I decided to put a project together to give back to NHS Wales staff, try out all of the amazing experiences available across Wales and meet many of the great hosts.

Experience Wales Live took place between 21st June and 12th July of this year with over 60 NHS Wales staff trying 24 experiences across Wales.