Guided Outdoor Adventures | Julia Hartley

"The outdoors is not just a place—it’s a mindset. Every step into nature is a step towards clarity, resilience, and rediscovering what truly matters."

In this episode, Julia Hartley introduces us to Guided Outdoor Adventures, a booking platform that connects guides with clients, making outdoor adventures more accessible and helping people find the right expertise to explore safely and confidently. 

Joined by guest host David Germain, CEO of the Anderton Centre, Chorley, we discuss the mental health benefits of outdoor experiences to the power of shared adventure  and how activities like hiking and wild swimming help people step out of their comfort zones and rediscover their inner strength.

Explore more:

https://guidedoutdooradventures.co.uk/

Join Julia & Guided Outdoor Adventures on Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/guidedoutdooradventures 

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/guided-outdoor-adventures

Find out more about the Anderton Centre:

https://andertoncentre.co.uk/

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"This Place, Our Voices" Credits:

Host: Elyssa Germain
Produced By: OneZeroCreative https://www.onezerocreative.co.uk/

Transcript

We are joined by Julia Hartley of Guided Outdoor Adventures, a travel agency with a difference, focusing on immersion in nature, discovering hidden wonders and forging connections which lasts a lifetime. Welcome, Julia. Thank you for joining us.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

We're also joined by our guest host, David Germain, whose knowledge on the outdoors far exceeds mine and just, so happens to be my husband. Welcome, David.

Good morning. Pleased to be here.

So, Julia, how did Guided Outdoor Adventures first start?

I'd moved from Lancashire to Cheshire two years ago and we were living in Knutsford and I'd given up my job and I was running along, listening to a podcast and I was like, how do people go out and meet other people when you've moved and you're older? I'd always gone to the Lake District walking and I'd always use the guide. And I thought, oh, well, I'll find someone in Cheshire and, take me out and show me local places. And I scrolled hours of trying to find a local walking guide, couldn't find one. And that's how the idea came about.

That's not something I necessarily would have thought about, but it makes so much sense to me because you want to be safe and you want to make sure you know where you're going and, you're making the most of what you're seeing along the way.

Exactly. And over the years, I've gone to the Lake District and we've gone with friends and they're taking you up a mountain. You get to relax, enjoy the walk and look at the views, chat with your friends without having to worry about where you're going, what you're doing. All that's taken care of. They know the best places to go for lunch, they know the best places to take pictures, they can show you the geography of the land and what's about and they give you the history lesson. And they're much more knowledgeable than just walking guides.

So you found a gap in the market here in Cheshire?

Found a gap in the market all over. So a lot of guides have individual websites and, nowadays the general public are so quick at, they want information at the fingertips that they don't want to scroll for hours. So it's kind of like joining the dots of the guides and the people. So it's a bit like Airbnb or booking.com for outdoor adventures.

What sets Guided Outdoor Adventures apart from other booking platforms?

It's double sided, so the guides have control of exactly what the public see. I also like to think I'm a real people's person and I've done this with the foresight of the guides. I could see a big company coming into the industry and, taking a large chunk of what the guides earn. And I really think that the guides have so much knowledge, so much safety awareness. They have to do so many courses to be mountain leaders or paddleboard instructors that it's not fair if a big corporation comes in and takes a lot of the money. So I've really tried to do it from an ethical point of view that these guys have so much knowledge that they should be rewarded for their pay. 

And their experience. Like you say, it takes a lot of time to get that good at something.

Yeah. And a lot of their businesses, you're not going to make millions of pounds. So it's a real label of love, what they do. They love the outdoors. They want to show the outdoors to people who wouldn't necessarily go on their own. It's a real passion project for them. That's how I see it. And I think that they should be rewarded for that.

It's really, really interesting and commendable what you're doing as an instructor, as a freelancer. we come from a slightly technophobe background, so just really interested as an instructor or a guide. How easy is it to get onto the platform?

So it's really easy to register. So all you need is your certificate, passport or driving licence, or some form of ID and insurance. You can upload that now. If you, don't want to add your adventures yourself, you can send them over to me and I can do that for you, or I'm happy to jump on a zoom with you and show you how it's done. It is really quite simple, but I understand that people don't want to do it or don't have time to do it, and I'm more than happy to do that for them.

What adventures do you tend to do at the moment?

Okay, so we've got a lot of guided walks, a lot of navigation courses, paddleboarding, abseiling, rock climbing, biking, electric and mountain bike. But we're always looking to expand.

So, somebody's listening, thinking, oh, I do this, and they look at the website and you don't currently offer that, just get in contact with you.

Yes, exactly.

What level of fitness or experience is required to take part in one of your adventures?

They're all different levels and, most of them are described at different levels. So, for example, I do a local walking group. You need to be able to walk Two or three miles and we walk, have a coffee and have a chat. There's somebody who's got a high level run 50 miles and that's over one day and that's going to be a bit gruelling. So we offer a wide range of levels of activity and it usually is described on what level you should be at.

Are the adventures suitable for a particular age group? Would you say?

I would say most of our age group are between 40 and 60. But they're not just geared at those people. The geared for everyone. Anybody who likes the outdoors, probably 16 to 65. I would say a lot of guides you have to have special checks if you're gonna take children out.

So you have to be D.B.S Checked. but some will take children if they're accompanied by their parents and they're the parents responsibility.

Yeah. Can people take their dogs as well?

That's up to the guide. So we have a policy. Some walks a dog friendly and some is definitely no dogs. Depends on the guide.

So that's clearly marked on before they book on.

Yes.

Perfect. How do you stay inspired, Julia? Where do you go for new ideas?

Gosh. So I've listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts, watch YouTube. I meet the guides, I like meeting them and I think it gives them an understanding of who I am, gives me an understanding of who they are and then you form a connection. So they inspire me as well. Books love reading and I think you learn so much from other people and just getting outside in nature and chatting to the general public about what they want, what they want to see, how they want to be nurtured. Some want the hand holding and some are very gun home.

What would you say to somebody who has never really done this before? Where would they start?

Do you know what? Sometimes you just have to take that plunge. And I think all the guides are really open arms sort of people and they would embrace them in if they're worried they can speak to them before they go. They would give them a list of what equipment they would need. a lot of them have spare equipment if it's new for them that they can borrow. Honestly, I haven't met a guide on my platform who hasn't embraced other people. They're all the sort of people who they were new once and will help other people. And I think that's really important and I think that's a really nice trait for our company to have.

What would you say is the bare minimum that they should have a really decent pair of walking boots and a Waterproof coat? 

Waterproof pants and a good pair of walking shoes. In the summer, you can get away with trainers and any trainers. It depends on the land. But walking boots, if you're going into the mountains, you need walking boots, especially in winter.

Really interested in the winter side of things. It's quite seasonal in terms of the challenges we face. Can you let us into secrets about your winter plans?

So, over the winter, we've got quite a few guides who are really active and so we've got walks in Derbyshire, we've got walks in Lake District. I’ll do, my Alderley Edge walking group, all winter. The water stuff starts in March, April. Some people have got indoor climbing on. We did some abseiling in October half term. Some people are happy to go walking in the winter, some people are. It is quite seasonal and it's really up to the guides. And if there's things on there, I really try hard to promote them for them.

I think it's a common misconception. We often find out, oh, we only want to come and see you in the summer. Well, to be brutally honest, we had more drier and nicer weather in November than we did in June. So actually, for me, the autumn winter is some of the most beautiful time to get out in nature.

You see so many lovely colours and you can do the same walk in the summer as you do in the winter. And the landscape changes so much that you don't actually realise you're on the same walk.

Definitely.

Looking back, is there anything that you'd have done differently? Yes, 

Specifically to Guided Outdoor Adventures, of course.

I might have raised some money first before sort of like launching. I'm a bit, oh, let's do it and see what happens. And, maybe that's not the best approach, but we've got there, we're getting there. You know, it's just getting the word out there. We're going to have changes through the platform, through the winter when it's the quieter season. We've already got some new stuff that we're going to introduce over the winter, so it's a bit more accessible for all guides and guided companies. Because some of the stuff isn't working. Would I change it? No. Cause. I've learned so much this year.

Yeah.

I don't know. If for wasn't against, 

If it had been too easy, you wouldn't have learned half the things that you've learned. Possibly things wouldn't be as they were had you not gone through that problem. Areas.

What I found is that the guys have all been understanding, they know what I'm trying to do. I did a load of zooms with them before we launched and said, this is what I'm trying to do. I'd love you to come along for the ride. And most of them have understood and have accepted that we will have a few bumps along the road and they know that if they speak to me that I'll try and change it and make it easier for them.

Yeah, we're a pretty close community so it's, an easy one to spread the word anyway to get on the platform.

How many guys do you have on your books now?

36 or 7.

And some of those been with you since the very beginning?

Yeah.

Oh, that's nice.

Yeah, it's nice. It's been really nice. Sometimes it's been quite humbling. I've had some messages from people and I've just thought, oh, yeah, I'm. I am doing all right because it's a lonely world on your own in business because you don't know whether what you're doing is what people want you to do. And so sometimes the feedback is like, yeah, yeah, I'm doing a good job.

What do you envisage for the future of guided outdoor adventures?

I'd love an app.

Oh Okay.

That would be the ultimate outcome. It would be its own app and it would be worldwide, maybe 10 years, not like tomorrow. And when my website man listens to this, he'll roll his eyes. But, yeah, eventually I'd like an app, but apps a lot of money, so I'd probably have to do some fun raising funds for that.

Yeah.

I am on an entrepreneurial scheme at the moment with up at Alderley park with lifted adventures and we can apply for funding. Whether I do it now or in the future, I don't know. I think it needs to be a bit more established before I have funding.

Do you involve yourself with any charities through the company?

I would love to take children who are underprivileged from inner cities out, in the countryside because I just think people in the countryside learn so much.

Yeah.

You only need to stand on Alderley edge, 100 metres up in the peace and quiet and, just take a moment and think, God, there's a big world out there that is undiscovered and it's sometimes just standing there with children who've never been in the countryside just blows their mind.

Yeah. I can't imagine being so immersed in a city environment that you don't know what a cow looks like or where milk comes from. But it is real, isn't it?

Yeah. Maybe we take it for granted but I think it's really important. So I would like to give back. When we eventually make money, I will give back. Or maybe we'll apply for some social prescribing funding and do little pockets where we can get money. Bus and take the children out and they've got a guide to take them and explain the outdoors to them.

Yeah, 

That's something in the future. Make a note.

So obviously being outdoors has massive benefits and huge outcomes for people. I mean we are in a mental health crisis at the moment in this country.

Yeah.

And I truly believe that you and I are part of the solution.

Yeah, I do.

So how we not centrally funded. I've had so many meetings with NHS practitioners and stuff. They are desperate to say yes, we want to, but they haven't got a penny. But GPs were prescribing exercise 20 odd years ago and it hasn't moved on at all. Actually exercising in gym scenarios are so off putting for some people.

Yeah.

But going for a walk can be not just good in terms of physical health but it's hundred times better mental health.

I just think that having just an hour in nature and being with other people just changes people's outlook on life. It is so beneficial being in nature, walking, exercise, it just makes your day so much better. It's so important to get people moving. And sometimes just walking along with someone and openly talking you find that people are much more open and honest. When you're walking side by side rather than sitting across the table from someone and because they're not looking directly at you and you're side by side, people are far more open farm, more honest and they can offload in a really nice space. That's how I see it.

No, that's really interesting. And that there's actually a lot of academic research that's gone into creating those sort of Safe coaching spaces, safe talking spaces. Generally we now struggle, in particular young people really struggle with face to face, eye to eye conversations. So as the situation you described there, rather than sat across from one another but walking alongside, you're automatically removing boundaries. So I think it's really, really powerful. And the opportunities you're creating are more than just an hour's walk, all the extra stuff that comes along with it.

So it doesn't need to be prescribed by a doctor though if somebody feels that getting out of the house, having an hour's walk would do them the world of good. They haven't got to go and see a GP to go down that route. They can literally just go on your website and book a tour.

Yes.

That's so easy. There's no excuse.

No, it's Guided Outdoor adventures. They can look on Facebook, they can look on Instagram. It's all under the same thing. They can then email me and if they want to chat, I can chat to them and, yeah, that's me.

Well, thank you so much for your time today, Julia, and also David as well. It's been really insightful and being somebody who's very comfortable being on my sofa. Actually, I'm starting to think that perhaps I need to go on the website and book a tour.

Well, come with me. I'll take you on a little adventure.

Great. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.