Julia & Steve discovered Gower in the early 1970s when they were students at Swansea University. They lived in a flat overlooking Caswell Bay and fell in love with Gower. Sadly, once they graduated work was scarce, so they returned to West London where Steve became a secondary school teacher and Julia worked in IT.
The couple continued to visit Gower, camping and walking and then moved back as soon as they retired, into an 1850s gamekeeper’s cottage in the woods north of Parkmill. From a semi-detached in suburbia to a cottage in the woods with the nearest neighbour a mile away was a big step. Julia fell in love with the place as soon as she saw it, but Steve took some persuading. After 14 years they both absolutely love it – even though the tawny owls can be noisy at this time of the year!
Julia & Steve love to walk and belong to, and lead walks for The Gower Society, the Swansea Outdoor Group and an unofficial group called Walking with Friends, mostly on Gower but also in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) and Pembrokeshire.
Their favourite holiday is trekking, and they have been on organised treks to 3 different areas of the Himalayas. On the last Himalayan trek they were trapped in a tent, for 3 days, on a ridge at 3,500 metres by snow, torrential rain and strong winds that didn’t seem to realise that the monsoon season was over. That sounds like an exciting experience!
They have trekked in Chile twice which they say was wonderful and to be recommended.
They also self-organised, with two of the Walking with Friends group, a trip to New Zealand where they completed three treks.
Two years ago, the couple did a “LiveAboard” trip, with six friends, on a modern copy of an Indonesian wooden fishing boat and spent 12 days kayaking and snorkelling in Raj Ampat, Indonesia. Their next trip is to the Marquesas islands in the Pacific for a “LiveAboard” kayaking, snorkelling and walking holiday in February 2027
Closer to home Julia and Steve have walked in Greece, Spain, Italy, Scotland and, of course, Wales.
This is only their second time leading a walk at the Gower Walking Festival but the walk they have chosen to do, which takes in Rhossili Down and Broughton Bay, is one of their favourite walks on Gower. They hope you enjoy it as much as they do.
For 2026, Julia and Steve are leading the following walks:
Rhossili Down & Broughton Bay on Monday 7th September .