Past themed guided walks in Mid Wales

Sunday 20th May 2018

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

A guided walk to discover the two sacred springs on Llynclys Hill. Carol Pearce will weave local folk tales into our journey of discovery, revealing the myths and legends held within the landscape.

Cost: £20 per person

• n.b. children under 16 are half price
• a discount for 2 parents/guardians/friends and 2 or more children

​We will meet in the large layby that is near the entrance to Turners Lane (not far from Llynclys crossroads, on the A495)

​This  walk will be led by Michelle Brydie and Carol Pearce, storyteller.

​We will walk and explore Llynclys Hill, with its rich history, stopping to listen to Carol’s tales along the way. We will find a place to enjoy our packed lunches, then discover the first of the sacred springs, before wending our way to the second sacred spring, where we will enjoy a tea and cake break and more tales from Carol, before ending up back at the beginning.
You will need to provide your own packed lunch and drink for the day, along with suitable clothing and footwear for exploring and sitting on the ground. If you wish, you could also bring something precious to leave as an offering at the spring.

Sunday 13th August

​11 a.m.  –  5 p.m.

​A guided walk that invites us to let go of all our worries as we wander the hills and then lie back in hammocks for an hour or so in good company. A chance to just be, looking up through the trees, listening to the birds, letting go of past and future and allowing ourselves to relax and simply be here now…

​Cost: £15 per person

• n.b. children under 16 are half price
• a family discount for 2 parents/guardians and 2 or more children

​We will meet in the main car park in Llanfyllin (by the Spar)

This walk will be led by guided walk leader and chief hammock setter-uperer, Michelle Brydie. We will wander out of Llanfyllin, along old tracks, up onto the hill tops above the town, taking in the view and our packed lunches, until we come across our grove of hammocks. Here we can rest awhile, lying back together, enjoying the peace and space that being in nature offers us. We will also have  tea and home-made cake. Then we will wend our way back across the hill to our starting point.

Sunday 6th August 2017

11 a.m.  –  5 p.m.

A guided walk that invites us to enjoy singing and harmonising  together in and along the beautiful hills above Montgomery. Led by Jonna Rivers, Natural voice coach and choir leader.

Cost: £20 per person

• n.b. children under 16 are half price
• a family discount for 2 parents/guardians and 2 or more children

We will meet at Montgomery castle car park at 11 a.m.

This walk will take us up around the gorgeous hills above Montgomery. Starting at Montgomery castle, we will walk and then stop to sing, then we will make our way up to the monument and an old hill fort. We will be able to look across the gently rolling hills of Wales. Jonna, natural voice coach & choir leader, will be leading us in song, teaching us some simple harmonies which we can then sing out under the sky, across the hills, joining in with the skylarks and rustling leaves. This walk does not require you to be a confident singer, although of course, you too are welcome. It just requires that you enjoy being outdoors and singing with others.

Storytelling Walk (guided walk in Mid Wales)

Sunday 23rd July 2017

11 a.m.  –  5 p.m.

Guided walk along the winding paths of Mid Wales, blending myth and reality,  with storyteller Carol Pearce. We will weave our way through the landscapes and tales that are revealed therein.

Cost: £20 per person

• n.b. children under 16 are half price
• a family discount for 2 parents/guardians and 2 or more children

We will meet in Meifod car park at 11 a.m.

This  walk will be led by Michelle Brydie and Carol Pearce, storyteller.

We will walk across the lands, exploring the streams, woods and footpaths that weave around the hills above and beyond Meifod, known by some as the valley of healers. We will stop from time to time and Carol will bring Celtic myth and archetypal tales to life. At some point along the way we will have a tea & home-made cake break.

Hula Hoop Walk (guided walk around Colemere)

Sunday 9th July 2017

11 a.m.  –  5 p.m.

​A guided hula hoop walk led by Jules of Julahoops

​Cost: £20 per person

​We will meet at the car park at the Colemere end of Cole Mere

​​This walk will begin at the car park at the Colemere village end of Cole Mere. We will wander around the mere, from time to time stopping to enjoy the view and for Jules to lead us in a hula-hoop session. We will have a picnic at lunchtime and then later enjoy a tea & cake break when we come across the beauty spot where Michelle (Walks in Paradise) will have hidden them. This walk is your chance to have a go, or perfect your hula-hoop skills in good company out in nature. It will be a light hearted and fun day where you can shake your booty to the birdsong and wind in the trees.

Midsummer Herb Walk (guided herb walk along the Marches)

Sunday 25th June 2017

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

A guided herb identification walk led by Medical Herbalist, Natalie Morris. 

Cost: £15 per person

We will meet at the Limeworks Heritage Centre car park in Llanymynech

This walk will begin at the Limeworks Heritage Centre and will take us along the canal, sometimes with water, sometimes not. Natalie will introduce us to the plethora of native herbs, flowers, trees and plants along our route, that can be used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Natalie has a wealth of knowledge that she delights in sharing with us. This can open our eyes and minds to what is available in our countryside and often right under our feet. We will enjoy a picnic lunch (participants supply their own packed lunches), followed by more plant identifying and then more lovely walking through the stunning countryside of the borderlands between England and Wales. We will end our walk at Canal Central cafe, where we can enjoy tea & cake, before sharing lifts back to the Heritage Centre car park.

Tai Chi Walk (guided walk in Powys)

Sunday 21st September 2014  11 am – 5 pm

​Guided walk through the hills with Tai Chi instruction from Dave Bibby

​Cost: £20 per person

Come join Michelle Brydie (Walks in Paradise) and Dave Bibby (Tai Chi practitioner) as we walk together up into the Welsh hills overlooking the rolling hills and valleys.

There we will attune our own vital forces with those of nature .

This gentle practice can help to calm the mind and reconnect you with body and spirit.

Woodland Whittling Walk (guided walk in Montgomeryshire)

Sunday 5th October 2014   (11 a.m.  –  5 p.m.)

Guided walk into the heart of the woods in Mid Wales with instruction in the art of whittling…

Cost: £25 per person

This day of walking and whittling will be led by Michelle Brydie and Mark Howlett.

It leads us into the woods to enjoy the  tree canopy that is slowly turning to autumn colours. Winds rustling the leaves, sunlight pushing through the branches, twigs snapping underfoot.

We will find a place to carve ourselves into the now, the concentration and focus, dispelling all other thoughts, other than what our creative selves decides is held within the wood.

The simple, but ancient art of whittling will be gently taught to us by Mark Howlett.  He has many years of experience from which has come an ability to know what is possible to create and draw out of  wood. No experience is necessary to join this walk.

He delights in sharing his knowledge of the nature and uses of trees.

Join us in connecting to that part of yourself that loves to play and while away a few hours walking and whittling in the woodlands around Meifod, once called the valley of healers.

We will have a tea and home made cake break at some point during our day.

Guided Flute Walk (guided walk in the Shropshire Hills)

Sunday 10th May 2015

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Guided walk through the Shropshire hills
We will make our own flutes, then wander to places where our tuneful notes can ring out across the hills

Cost: £20 per person

This flute walk, will begin with us meeting at Little Stretton Village Hall, where we will make our flutes under the careful instruction of  Pat French and then we will take ourselves and our flutes across the hills and woods, where we can join each other to create haunting melodies, with which to invoke Pan and other nature spirits which may be lingering in these rural oases.

The flutes will be made from plastic pipe, as although wood or bamboo is more aesthetic, the plastic lends itself to speed and accuracy of tuning. These flutes will be tuned to the pentatonic scale, which means that  they will be in tune when any note is played. I am assured that the sounds created as we all play our flutes together, will be haunting and beautiful.

The countryside around Little Stretton is stunning and we will be exploring the lesser known lower hills, woods and valleys, rather than climbing up to the Long Mynd.

We will meet at 11 a.m. at the Village Hall in Little Stretton

Chi Yoga Walk (guided walk in Montgomeryshire)

Sunday 17th May 2015

11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Guided walk around Gaer Fawr woods, with flowing Chi Yoga and Meditation led by Chris Purdy

Cost: £20 per person

This walk begins at the car park at Gaer Fawr woods. We will wend our way up through the old, once coppiced oak trees, as the ditches and banks of the Bronze age hill fort reveal themselves to us. Then coming out at the boar seat and a vast carpet of blue bells, we shall find the right place for our Chi Yoga to begin.

Chi Yoga and meditation will be led by the wonderful Chris Purdy. Chris has been leading these flowing, joyous blends of yoga,  Qi Gong and meditation at the Natural harmony Centre and at her own retreat centre for a number of years.
We can then enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of home-made cake and revel in the vibrant carpets of blue bells surrounding us.

We will meet at 11 a.m. in the car park at Gaer Fawr.

Sunday 17th May 2015

11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Guided walk around Gaer Fawr woods, with flowing Chi Yoga and Meditation led by Chris Purdy

Cost: £20 per person

This walk begins at the car park at Gaer Fawr woods. We will wend our way up through the old, once coppiced oak trees, as the ditches and banks of the Bronze age hill fort reveal themselves to us. Then coming out at the boar seat and a vast carpet of blue bells, we shall find the right place for our Chi Yoga to begin.

Chi Yoga and meditation will be led by the wonderful Chris Purdy. Chris has been leading these flowing, joyous blends of yoga,  Qi Gong and meditation at the Natural harmony Centre and at her own retreat centre for a number of years.
We can then enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of home-made cake and revel in the vibrant carpets of blue bells surrounding us.

We will meet at 11 a.m. in the car park at Gaer Fawr.

Spring Tonic Herb Walk (guided walk in Mid Wales)

Sunday 17th April 2016

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Cost: £20 per person

​We will meet in the main car park, near the Spar in Llanfyllin.

This walk will lead us up into the hills and woods around Llanfyllin, where Natalie Morris, Medical herbalist, will teach us how to identify edible spring greens and medicinal spring tonic herbs for culinary purposes and their wider medicinal uses.

We will collect plants and herbs with which we can make a delicious spring tonic soup, cooked on an open fire in Coed Caeau-gwynedd , which we can share and enjoy along with tea and home-made cake. Then we will head back to the car park, no doubt identifying and gathering a few more herbs with which to make spring tonics.

Songlines (guided walk in Mid Wales)

Sunday 24th April 2016

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

A walk that invites us to delight in joining others in being led to sing simple harmonies in the beauty of the Welsh hills.

​Cost: £20 per person

​We will meet at Welshpool train station car park

This walk will be led by Michelle Brydie and Roxane Smith, choir mistress.  It will lead us from the Montgomery canal, up onto the hills, where we will stop to have our packed lunch and learn some beautiful harmonies and then join our voices to send our melodious harmonies out across the hills. We will then walk some more and find a beautiful spot where we can learn another song, drink tea and eat cake, before walking back down and along the canal.

Life Coaching Walk (guided walk in Shropshire)

Sunday 8th May 2016

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

A walk inviting you to explore and identify where you are at present and which direction you wish to head in and discover strategies that can assist you in this process.

​Cost: £20 per person

​We will meet in Nescliffe outside the Old Three Pigeons pub.

This walk will be led by Michelle Brydie and Emma Douglas, experienced Life Coach. This walk starts with an interactive group talk looking at what stops us from getting the most out of our lives, and what tools we can use to achieve our best. The talk covers developing a mind-set of excellence, why people fail, how to overcome procrastination, why most people don’t change but ​how you can, how we can use our minds to beat the mental blocks that stop us from achieving what we want out of our lives.  After the initial talk we wind our way through the Welsh hills walking and talking where Emma will be happy to have further mini-chats with you about any specific sticking points in your life – according to demand and time.

We will have stops for our packed lunch and a tea and cake break.

Hammock Walk (guided walk in Montgomeryshire)

Sunday 5th June 2016  11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

​A walk that leads us around and over the beautiful Mynydd y Bryn, near Llansilin, eventually taking us to a grove of hammocks, where we can rest and sway.

Cost: £20 per person

​We will meet at the car park for the Motte & Bailey at Bryn-derw, near Llansilin.

​I am really looking forward to this one.

​This walk will be led by guided walk leader and chief hammock setter-uperer, Michelle Brydie. We will wander along old tracks, up onto Mynydd y Bryn, taking in the view and our packed lunches, until we come across our grove of hammocks. Here we can rest awhile, lying back together, enjoying the peace and space that being in nature offers us. We will also have  tea and home-made cake. Then we will wend our way back across the hill to our starting point.

Songlines (guided walk in Shropshire)

Sunday 14th May 2017

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

A walk that invites us to enjoy singing and harmonising  together in and along the beautiful hills of Nesciffe and the Cliffe.

Cost: £20 per person

We will meet at The Old Three Pigeons Pub, Nescliffe at 11 a.m.

This walk will take us up around the gorgeous sandstone hills and cliffs aptly named Nescliffe and the Cliffe. A place that has been the source of building blocks for many a local house and castle. We will be able to look across the flatlands of Shropshire and towards the gently rolling hills of Wales. Roxane will be leading us in song, teaching us some simple harmonies which we can then sing out under the sky, across the hills, joining in with the skylarks and rustling leaves.