Whenever the question of boosting the local economy of the Cambrians arises, increasing visitor numbers (and spend) is said to be part of the answer.  In fact, the Cambrians have been drawing visitors for centuries.   The Georgians were the first to come: visits to Wales in the late 1700s outnumbered those to the Lake District or Scotland, though Snowdonia clearly received the lion’s share.  The early visitors came to wonder at and experience the landscape they expected to see – frequently comparing it with Italian artist Salvador Rosa’s images of the Picturesque in Italy.  Artists even adjusted the Welsh landscapes they were supposedly painting, so as to conform more closely to Rosa’s images of Italy. Workers are invisible, since the residents of Arcadia are not meant to be dirty, diseased or in any way suffering.  But waterfalls are everywhere, to be rhapsodised over.

The Victorians were more Romantic, actually looking at the landscape that was present rather than the one they wanted to imagine, and in the latter half of the 19th century railways and improved accommodation brought greater numbers, though largely confined to the surrounding towns.

In this webinar, Nia Lloyd-Knott will look at the inspiration that brings people to remote places  such as the Cambrians today, and the issues that mass tourism (as experienced in the National Parks) brings in its wake.  Nia has been working as a guide in Wales since 2016, having started Wild Trails Wales to help more people connect with nature, and discover Wales. She writes for several outdoor-focussed publications and is the author of two guides: Wild Swimming Walks – South Wales (2023) and Wild Swimming Walks – West Wales (2025)..

Please register for a free ticket below if you wish to attend, so that we can send you a link to the Zoom. This will be sent out the evening before the webinar takes place.