Carreg Coetan

You'll find this Neolithic burial chamber standing alone on a hillside just outside Newport, and it's genuinely striking - a 5,000-year-old dolmen with a massive capstone balanced on uprights, looking like some ancient giant's game of architectural roulette. The site sits exposed on open moorland, so there's nowhere to hide from the wind or the views across Cardigan Bay, which honestly adds to the atmosphere rather than detracting from it.

What you're looking at is one of Wales' finest megalithic monuments, free to wander around whenever you fancy. It takes about twenty minutes to walk up from the nearest lane, and the path itself is straightforward enough though a bit boggy underfoot after rain. There's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards, no queue - just you, the stones, and the wind. History types will spend a good hour circling the thing, photographing it from every angle and wondering how Neolithic people shifted a capstone that weighs several tonnes. Kids under twelve will get bored within ten minutes, though climbing the low fence for photos entertains them briefly.

If you're based at one of the nearby holiday parks - Llwyngwair Manor is barely half a mile away - this makes a cracking half-morning excursion before heading down to the coast. Pair it with a walk around Gelli Fawr Moor and you've got a proper morning's exploration sorted. The lack of facilities means you won't linger for hours, but that's rather the point. Some prehistoric sites feel museumified to death; Carreg Coetan feels genuinely old.