Carreg Samson

You'll find this Neolithic burial chamber standing alone in farmland west of Aberystwyth, its massive capstone balanced across upright stones like some ancient weighing scale. Carreg Samson is a proper dolmen - the kind of thing that makes you stop dead and wonder how Bronze Age people shifted a stone that size without heavy machinery.

It's free to visit and you can get there any time. The walk from the nearest lane takes five minutes across fields, though you'll want to check with locals or the farmer first - this isn't a formal visitor site with signage and car parks. That's rather the point. You're seeing it as it's been for thousands of years, not as a tourist attraction wrapped up with interpretation boards.

History types and photographers will get real value here. The capstone is genuinely impressive up close, and the isolation gives you space to actually think about what this place meant to people five thousand years ago. Kids might find it interesting for ten minutes, then get restless - there's no visitor facilities, no shop, no café. This isn't a day out on its own.

It works well as part of a wider walk exploring Ceredigion's coastal archaeology, or as a stop if you're based at one of the nearby campsites - Brynllwyd Glamping and Woodlands Caravan Park are both within easy reach. Aberystwyth itself is close enough for food and supplies. Go on a clear day if you can; the landscape around it is half the appeal.