Move over hygge: Pembrokeshire athlete invites visitors to Wales to feel the ‘hwyl’ in Wales this year

An athlete from Pembrokeshire who has overcome tragedy is backing a campaign to entice visitors to Wales to experience a feeling they can’t get anywhere else this year, as described by a little Welsh word with a big meaning.

Hwyl – pronounced ‘hoo-eel’- has no direct translation in English and multiple interpretations, the most popular broadly meaning a deep state of joy that comes from being totally immersed in the moment.

Adaptive athlete Jules King, who has young onset Parkinson’s aged just 45, is a CrossFit World Championships bronze medallist and, since being diagnosed ten years ago, lives by her mantra, “Life is too short to be anything but happy.”

Jules’ ‘good vibes only’ energy is thoroughly contagious and led to her being enlisted as a ‘hwyl’ ambassador, alongside Welcome to Wrexham’s Welsh language specialist Maxine Hughes, who has been brought on board by Visit Wales to invite visitors worldwide to ‘feel the hwyl,’ which launched on last Monday’s Hen Galan, a uniquely Pembrokeshire date.

Despite much of the world celebrating the start of 2025 three weeks ago, Cwm Gwaun inhabitants are ‘hwyl’ specialists and still mark Hen Galan on January 13.

Hwyl

Hwyl – pronounced ‘hoo-eel’- has no direct translation in English and multiple interpretations, the most popular broadly meaning a deep state of joy that comes from being totally immersed in the moment.

Jules lost the love of her life and father of her two-year-old daughter when he was killed in a car crash in 1999 and she first experienced her first Parkinson’s symptom two months later, when her toe curled up and wouldn’t relax; yet she finds her ‘hwyl’ daily and in so many ways.

From CrossFit to cold water swimming and wild sauna, which both help ease her daily pain, Jules is a huge advocate of ‘hwyl’ and of Wild Water Sauna, a mobile sauna in Pembrokeshire.

She spent her entire twenties and early thirties in a wheelchair, still without a name for her illness and it took another 16 years before she was finally told she had Parkinson’s, making her one of just 1,800 people with Parkinson’s under the age of 50 in the UK.

Since her diagnosis, aged 35, and the right medication, she’s started to relearn how to use her body and says: “For me, ‘hwyl’ – that uniquely Welsh sense of spirited joy and energy – comes from wherever I can find it.

“Living with Parkinson’s means I’m constantly seeking those moments that lift me, moments that remind me I’m alive. Sauna sessions and cold water plunges are more than just routines, they’re my lifeline. The rush of heat followed by the icy grip of the water jolts me awake, eases my pain, and brings a much-needed dopamine boost. It’s in these moments, when the world feels clearer, that I grab hold of hwyl, embracing its power to invigorate both body and mind.”

Jules has been embracing Wild Water Sauna for just over a year and finds a special ‘hwyl’ there because, she says, of the feeling of a community and family she feels there.

Its definition means hwyl can be found in situations which mean the most to the individual or group, whether that’s exploring a forest canopy with friends, stargazing under dark skies in an outdoor tub next to a special someone, dancing the day and night away at a music festival, switching between a sauna and the surf on the beach, being in the stands for an unmatchable sporting moment or taking to the air in a hot air ballon as the green fields and castles roll underneath you.

In 2016, the world became aware of Scandinavian ‘hygge’, the word and mood of a feeling of cosy contentment but now, Wales is hoping even more people around the world visit the nation to experience its own unique ambience.

Describing the effect hwyl has on your state of well-being, Dr Awel Vaughan-Evans, a psychologist from Bangor University said: “The interesting thing about hwyl is it comes to life in both relaxing and energetic environments. On one hand, hwyl can release dopamine, fire neurotransmitters and raise the heartbeat, creating a prolonged sense of euphoria.  Alternatively, it can slow it right down with endorphins reducing stress, causing the entire body to relax. Essentially, hwyl is your own particular form of happiness.”

Dr Noemi Picco, a mathematician originally from Italy but now working at Swansea University, said: “There’s a definite formula for hwyl . If you combine unburdened adventure with unparalleled beauty, and with the warm ‘croeso’ (‘welcome’ in English) of the Welsh people with the epic landscapes of Wales, you get hwyl. And you can only find that in Wales.”

Welcome to Wrexham’s Maxine Hughes is now based in Washington D.C. She said: “I spent most of my childhood in Conwy outside on the coast. We’ve got a deep appreciation for the outdoors and having fun here, whether it’s warm or wet, dry or cold. Our landscape and willingness to embrace the outdoors is part of the beauty of hwyl.”