Our founders Alison and David Howell have been hiking, exploring and stepping out in South West England for over three decades, creating Foot Trails and staying in the region’s country inns.
Foot Trails began with a walk!
Alison grew up on farms in the West Country and David in the Cotswolds. For both walking wasn’t an exercise, it was a way of thinking, noticing and resetting. David still calls it ‘wandering’ not walking, the sort of movement that clears your head and stirs your curiosity.Â
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Alison, who lives with bipolar, speaks openly about how walking in nature has helped her to reconnect with herself and with the world around her.Â
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Alison and David met at university and later, whilst Alison was working for IBM and David in IT, they both knew that life behind a desk wasn’t for them. So they packed a tent, headed for France and walked 680 miles together – asking questions about freedom, place and what a different life might look like.Â
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In 2002 that journey became Foot Trails – a walking/ hiking travel company rooted in South West England, shaped by people, not mass tourism. From day one they focused on comfort, curiosity and connection not mileage or markets.
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In 2012 Alison and David decided to reach out to Americans and inspire them to come and hike South West England. In 2014 Alison won a scholarship and studied at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Chicago.
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Today the tents are packed away, but the trails continue to grow. Foot Trails still chooses its own paths, guided by instinct, local knowledge and a quiet philosophy called ‘The Howell Way’.
Dreams of walking in rural England?
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