Visit Wales is marking the start of Wales’ 'Year of Outdoors' with a new campaign – that’s full of ‘hwyl’ and promotes Wales as a place of outstanding outdoor experiences for everyone.

The first part of the campaign premieres on January 1 with a new film showing on TV and across Visit Wales’ social media platforms and video on demand, and gives a taster of what’s to come during 2020.

The campaign invites people to ‘check in’ to new experiences, to celebrate the outdoors and let the outdoors in. It showcases outdoor enthusiasts from across the country - local swimmers, surfers, cyclists, walkers alongside well known Welsh faces such as Luke Evans and Powys-born actor Eve Myles. The heart of the campaign aims to express the real Wales including the welcome and feeling of community and linking the outdoors to health and wellbeing.

As part of the campaign, Olympian Jazz Carlin has a day out with Pembrokeshire-based Bluetits chill swimming group on a trip to Harlech beach. Sian Richardson co-founded the Bluetits Chill Swimmers in Pembrokeshire in 2014 with Tracey Sharrat.

Sian said: “Our group in Pembrokeshire began with a group of strangers all with a shared passion for the outdoors. Now there’s a joyous sense of belonging and inclusion….given that our group has members ranging from 18 to 68, I’ve loved seeing first-hand how older and younger generations can come together to help each other become mentally and physically stronger.”

Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas, said: “There has always been an inherent relationship between people and the outdoors in Wales. It’s not just that our landscapes are awe-inspiring; they are steeped in the living history of our language and culture. In 2020, we’re inviting people to check in to our hotels, cottages and campsites – and then to throw open the doors and let the outside in.”

Further details and new experiences for the 'Year of Outdoors' will be revealed during a celebration of the 'Year of Outdoors' on January 9 in North Wales.