introducing your FOOT LUCE guides
Your welcoming Foot Luce guides specialise in a variety of small-group historic and natural environment day-walking tours with a personal touch in the beautiful Galloway Region of South-West Scotland. There are several set itineraries to choose from or they can tailor a bespoke day out to suit your particular thirst for adventure!
Husband and wife team Ken and Leah Chynoweth-Tidy share a wealth of skill and experience from years of involvement in outdoor pursuits and off-grid living, blended with a shared passion for history and the natural world.
Their love and pride for the rich history and natural beauty of the Galloway Region where they live and adventure together is deep and genuine.
Through informative, intimate tours for all walking abilities, Ken and Leah would be delighted to introduce you to diverse, stunning Scottish landscapes that are far too often missed on mainstream itineraries.
‘We are passionate, dedicated advocates for this beautiful area we live in! Dumfries and Galloway is one of those largely undiscovered, uncrowded gems, featuring glittering seascapes, heather-hued moors and hills. There are so many places where we can help you escape the rat race and discover a love of the wild waiting within you.
Scotland starts here, encompassing stunning Dark Sky Country night skies, the GSA UNESCO Biosphere and Scotland’s longest, most challenging walking trail , the Southern Upland Way.
Join us and walk ancient paths, discover secret places and real-life histories through local knowledge. We can help you re-balance and find peace in beautiful, expansive landscapes, far from the madding crowd.’
Ken and Leah
Ken
GSA Biosphere Tour Guide
Ken was born in North London; technically a City boy, but with adventurous parents who already regularly enjoyed youth hosteling, camping clubs and Scouting together. This provided him with a wealth of experience and deep love for the great outdoors from earliest memory. His ancestral lines are as richly Scottish as his wife’s, branching back through the generations to clans Gray and McLeod.
Ken has spent many years wild camping, mountaineering, orienteering, hiking, canoeing, and mentoring people of all ages. As a college lecturer and musician, he’s passionate, engaging and well-skilled in delivering first-hand a variety of vibrant, interactive and informative experiences.
He has an endless fascination for history, particularly for the social aspects of communities and how these have evolved through time. An avid researcher, he has a keen passion for making sense of how people from ancient times lived and to learn about the evolving landscapes around which they built their histories.
Under Ken and Leah’s guidance, your walking journeys through history will be uniquely informative, challenging, breathtaking and delightfully memorable for years to come.
Leah
Ladies of Luce Tour Guide
Leah was born in Melbourne, Australia with a rich Scottish history flowing through her veins. Her father was born in Ayrshire, her paternal grandfather actively served as a Cameron Highlander and her mother’s people the McLeod’s originated from the Summer Isles region along the Scottish West Coast.
Over the years Leah has accumulated a wealth of experience, skills and knowledge in Scoutcraft, leadership, mentoring, spirituality and a wide variety of adventurous activities in the great outdoors, on land and in the water. Having been mentored herself to “do” and “have a go” at a variety of challenges in life, she’s keen to pay this kind of encouragement forward. As an artist and performing musician, she also genuinely enjoys connecting and interacting with folk from all walks of life.
Leah’s love of nature and history began at an early age with the roots of Celtic communities of particular interest. She feels most at home in the great outdoors and is endlessly inspired to encourage others to enjoy the wonders and beauty of nature.
Our Partners
Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere
We are proud supporters of the UNESCO GSA Biosphere as well as Qualified GSA Biosphere Tour Guides.
Covering more than 5,200 km² of southwest Scotland, Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere follows the rivers that flow out of the Galloway Hills: through forests and farmland, historic villages and towns, all the way to a ruggedly scenic coast. It includes iconic wildlife and natural habitats which are recognised as being of international importance.
Leave no Trace
We are Leave No Trace practitioners, upholding uphold their Seven Principles and Mission Statement :
“Using the power of science, education and stewardship, Leave No Trace is on a mission to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet.
No matter where or why you get outside, it’s yours to protect.
It’s Your Nature.”
Southern Upland Way
Volunteer Rangers
We are both dedicated volunteers supporting the employed Dumfries & Galloway Council Rangers for some of the Western sections of the Southern Upland Way. We regularly help monitor and maintain the route between Portpatrick and Bargrennan. Our day tour walks incorporate our local parts of this trail.
Watch the video of our amazing day out as hosts to SUW Ranger Tom here
ACCOMMODATION
Book Your Ultimate Outdoor Escape
We are delighted to support a variety of fabulous local accommodations where you can base yourself and immerse in the ultimate escape to South-West Scotland.
Click HERE to download our current list of welcoming accommodation partners.
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