See Cymru Differently – Guide Walker training
18.12.25Guide Walker training to be rolled out in three areas of Wales in 2026 after successful RNIB Cymru pilot.
RNIB Cymru’s See Cymru Differently project was launched in April 2025 and aims to connect people with sight loss to the natural world. The project has been shaped by the lived experience of See Cymru Differently lead Gareth who was registered blind 10 years ago. Despite finding solace and space to process his sight loss in the hills above Abergavenny, he was no longer able to independently explore and experience the beauty and nature of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park.
Walking in our beautiful landscapes brings joy, benefits people’s physical and mental health, and is a core part of community life in Wales - however there are still significant barriers to blind and partially sighted people in safely accessing the hills, coastlines and mountains of Wales and across the wider UK and Ireland.
There are approximately 112,000 blind and partially sighted people living in Wales, with this number expected to double by 2050. In the wider UK there are currently two million blind and partially sighted people, so hopefully the plans to expand the See Cymru differently project across the whole of the UK will reach more people in the future.
The pioneering Guide Walking programme
The pioneering Guide Walking programme is a world first enabling visually impaired people to be partnered with a guide who helps them to navigate the walks. The visually impaired person is given a narrative description of the scenery they encounter (named ‘Talk the Walk’) giving people with sight loss a 360-degree experience of nature around them.
People with sight loss are three times more likely to experience poor mental health and report a sense of feeling cut off from the world. Walking and the opportunity to engage with nature boosts confidence, community, and a passion for the natural world that many feel they are currently excluded from.
In October this year, the See Cymru Differently Team and Mountain Training piloted the first ever Guide Walker training day at Plas y Brenin, Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). Here a group of qualified walk leaders undertook a Sight Loss Awareness & Guiding course, culminating in taking blind and partially sighted people out walking locally to implement what they had learnt.
In collaboration with Mountain Training, RNIB Cymru has a vision to scale up this work, creating a community of Guide Walkers across Wales and the UK (similar to the well-established Guide Runner model), enabling blind and partially sighted people true and safe access to the coastlines, hills, and mountains. Throughout 2026/27 we will continue to not only develop and refine the Guide Walker training model but also the kit worn by Guide Walkers.
Photo 1: A man with visual impairment being lead on a walk in the woods by a lady in a pink jacket, both are using High-vis equipment to aid them.
Photo 2: the course participants use aids to experience what different types of visual impairments are like.
Who can be a Guide Walker?
Guide Walkers must be a qualified Lowland, Hill and Moorland or Mountain Leader. They must have undertaken the Guide Walker training delivered by the See Cymru Differently (RNIB) team.
Guide Walker pilot areas 2026:
Plas y Brenin – Eryri National Park
Libanus – Bannau Brycheiniog National Park
Parc y Oriel – Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
