Our Team

Ben is a Director of Celtic Trails and has led the business for over a decade, following in the footsteps of his father, Angus. He runs the company alongside his wife Carys. Ben is responsible for guiding the company’s long-term development and ensuring Celtic Trails continues to offer a highly personal, well-supported experience for every walker. Much of Ben’s work focuses on improving the business behind the scenes, freeing up the team to spend more time doing what they do best: supporting clients and building strong relationships. He lives in the heart of the Wye Valley, close to Offa’s Dyke Path and the Wye Valley Walk.

Carys is a Director of Celtic Trails and joined the business in 2019. Raised in Pembrokeshire, she studied Law before going on to spend 14 years working in teaching and middle management. She now works alongside her husband Ben in leading the business, helping to guide the company’s development while ensuring the team has the systems and support needed to deliver Celtic Trails’ high standards of service. Her background in education and management brings a strong focus on organisation, clear communication and continual improvement across the business.

Penny is our Office Manager and Walk Specialist and is now in her third decade with Celtic Trails, having lost count of the number of walking holidays she has arranged over the years. She has extensive knowledge of our UK-based walks, with a particular focus on routes in England, including a recent walk along Hadrian's Wall Path. Penny is passionate about delivering excellent customer service and always enjoys hearing feedback from walkers once they’ve completed their journeys.

Nathan joined Celtic Trails in 2008 and has supported a significant number of clients over the years in planning their walking holidays. Many return to book with him time and again, valuing the continuity and experience he brings. Alongside his client-facing role, Nathan leads on product development, overseeing the growth of the Celtic Trails programme — recently reviewing our Cotswold Round route and scouting the Cammino di Oropa in northern Italy as part of that work. He plays a key part in shaping new routes and ensuring the range is carefully curated and well balanced.

Kate has been a Walk Specialist with Celtic Trails since 2012, bringing many years of experience in arranging walking holidays. She mainly looks after the Welsh walking routes, with particular interest in the Wales Coast Path. She is very familiar with several of the locations along the path, most recently exploring the Anglesey section, and enjoys helping people discover the beauty of this part of the country.

Sarah looks after a selection of UK and European holidays, including our most popular trail, Offa’s Dyke Path. Combining her love of walking and travel, Sarah joined the team in 2018 after a long-standing career in customer service management. She has explored Glyndwr's Way and our walking trails of Majorca recently, bringing first-hand knowledge to two very different corners of the programme. She always puts herself in our customers’ shoes to ensure that every detail feels just right, whilst also maintaining strong and lasting relationships with our suppliers.

Julie has been working with Celtic Trails since 2022 as a Customer Services Administrator. She enjoys walking and discovering different parts of the UK and abroad, recently completing the Jersey Coastal Path. Julie supports the team by processing walk enquiries, helping keep bookings organised and collating the information for each client’s walking pack. Her role helps ensure that every holiday runs smoothly and that walkers have everything they need before setting off on their journey.

Christina looks after the social media and marketing at Celtic Trails. She manages our news articles, social media posts, newsletters and blogs, while keeping up to date with the latest trail developments to share with our walking community. Having started in Operations, working closely with Offa’s Dyke Path and several of our Scottish routes, she has first-hand experience of how our walking holidays come together behind the scenes. The West Highland Way is a particular favourite, which she has explored herself.

Lisa is our Hadrian’s Wall Path specialist and plays an active role in all aspects of your holiday, from liaising with B&B hosts and designing new itineraries through to creating information packs. She has spent time walking the Cumbria Way, extending her first-hand knowledge of the Lake District. She enjoys working with walkers from the very start of their journey, listening to ideas and requests and helping create the right mix of daily miles and history. Lisa also works with Kate on another of our most popular walks, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

Holly is a Walk Specialist focusing on Scottish Highland routes, supporting walkers in planning, booking and enjoying self-guided walking holidays. An avid walker herself, she has explored routes across the UK, from the South West coastline to the dramatic Scottish Highlands — most recently completing the Great Glen Way, bringing valuable first-hand experience to the holidays she looks after. Holly takes pride in making sure every detail is well thought through, helping walkers feel confident, supported and prepared at every stage of their journey.

Angus founded Celtic Trails alongside his wife Judy, starting with guided walks in Snowdonia before building the company into one of the UK's longest-established self-guided walking holiday providers. An experienced guide and passionate walker, he has walked many of the routes in the Celtic Trails programme himself, knowledge that shaped the company's approach from the start. He handed the reins to his son Ben in 2016 and is now retired, though still regularly pops into the office and never entirely out of the loop.