Croeso! Welcome!

I’m April, founder of Great Outpaws, and my spotty sidekick Riley is the heart and paws behind it all. My husband Ed and I share a love for the outdoors, travel and adventure, and we feel incredibly lucky to call Wales home. Whether it’s ticking off summits or finding the best dog friendly cafés, Great Outpaws was born from our passion for exploring together.

My journey here hasn’t exactly been straightforward. Just after my 19th birthday, I packed a bag and flew to Australia on a one-way ticket. I spent the next couple of years backpacking and exploring countries on my bucket list until everything came to a halt during a visit home for my 21st birthday. I’d planned to catch up with family and friends for a few months before heading off again to Central America. But shortly after arriving back in the UK, I began experiencing severe stomach pain.

It turned out to be Crohn’s disease. The condition was so aggressive that within weeks of diagnosis, I’d had two major surgeries. Going from being independent and outdoorsy to bed-bound and too weak to brush my own hair was soul destroying.  That plane ticket to Central America was never used, and life as I knew it took a completely different turn. From that point on, I became determined to grab life with both hands, to do more of what I love, and to never take good health or adventure for granted.

During recovery, I met Ed, and thankfully he shared the same energy for getting out and about. Our holidays are never about beach loungers and cocktails. Instead, they’re filled with hiking, ski trips, shark swims and exploring quieter, less touristy spots. We even climbed Kilimanjaro together to raise money for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital and Crohn’s & Colitis UK, and raised over £15,000.

We now live just outside the Brecon Beacons and try to spend as much time as we can outdoors with Riley. Before she turned one, we set ourselves the challenge of ticking off all the Welsh Hewitts with her. That first year was slow and steady with short, simple routes while she matured physically. As we began exploring more remote, rugged routes, I realised how difficult it was to find clear and reliable dog friendly information all in one place. That’s when the idea for Great Outpaws really began to form.

Riley’s had her own Instagram since she was a pup, but as we tackled more summits, we quickly realised we needed a space to properly share our routes, honest reviews, and celebrate just how incredible Wales is for adventurous dogs and their people. And so, Great Outpaws was born.

We wanted to create a space to properly share our routes, honest reviews, and celebrate how incredible Wales is for adventurous dogs and their people. And so, Great Outpaws was born.

What started as a little passion project has grown into something much bigger. We’re now building a trusted team of like-minded Explorers from across the UK — each with their own dog, their own story, and a shared love for discovering new places. These are real owners who walk the walks, test the trails, and help uncover genuinely dog-friendly gems beyond our own patch. By bringing together more voices and local knowledge, we’re able to cover more ground and offer trustworthy recommendations wherever you are in the UK.

Every walk, dog park and stay you’ll find on the site has been tried, tested and approved — not just by me and Riley, but by people and pups we know and trust. I hope Great Outpaws gives you that extra nudge to head somewhere new, get those boots (and paws) muddy, and make some brilliant memories along the way.