Cerrig y Cledd

The standing stones at Cerrig y Cledd sit in rolling moorland above Dolgellau, and they're the sort of place you stumble upon rather than plan for. Two weathered slabs of rock, probably Bronze Age, mark what was clearly important to someone five thousand years ago - though quite what remains anyone's guess. The walk out here takes you through proper Welsh hill country, past sheep and bracken, with views that stretch towards Cader Idris on a clear day.

It's not Instagram material. The stones themselves are humble - roughly upright, unadorned, with lichen crusting their surfaces. But that's precisely why it works. You're not queuing behind tour groups or reading interpretation boards written for eight-year-olds. This is archaeology as it should be: genuinely mysterious and genuinely lonely.

Walkers will get the most from this. The site sits maybe forty minutes' hike from Dolgellau town centre, and the surrounding landscape is excellent for extending your route. Families with restless toddlers might find it a bit thin - half an hour and you're done. History types will appreciate being somewhere barely documented, where the interpretive work is yours to do.

It's free, obviously. Bring proper boots because the moorland gets boggy, and go midweek if you want real solitude. The nearby camping parks - Graig Wen and Hendre Mynach are your closest options - make decent bases for exploring this quieter corner of Snowdonia. Not a day out in itself, but a proper addition to a walking holiday in the area.