Article by Jools Hill

One of the fabulous things about guiding with Phil is the lovely like-minded folks that I get to meet and walk with in beautiful Andalucia. A lot of Phil’s clients return time and again, and it’s great to see familiar smiling faces walking through the doors of the arrivals area in Malaga airport and out into the Spanish sunshine.

There’s one particular group of lovely folks who have become firm friends and return at least once, if not more, every season. We share stories about the hills and mountains in our own parts of the world, and say how lovely it would be to walk with each other on our own favourite routes. 

And so started a subset of Andalucia on Foot, with our first weekend of walking in the stunning mountains of the Republic of Ireland. Our hostess rivalled Phil with her meticulous planning and skilled guiding, including the production of a detailed document showing our itinerary and details of all the iconic routes that she was going to share with us. We learnt about the history and culture of the area, and brought home some really fabulous memories of this very special part of the world.

The journey doesn’t end there, though. Still riding high on the success of our Irish trip, we convinced Phil to temporarily swap his Churros for Welsh Cakes to return to the place where his walking career started, the scenic Brecon Beacons. When his Spanish walking season is over next year, he will take us on some of the iconic routes that played a significant role in shaping his love of walking and share some of the history and culture of this beautiful part of the world.

Can’t wait!