Clogwyn Melyn

Getting to Clogwyn Melyn from Caernarfon takes you into proper Welsh hill country, where the landscape shifts from town to serious peaks within minutes. This is a modest mountain by Alpine standards - nothing technical, but it rewards the legwork with views across Snowdonia that make the effort worthwhile.

The walk itself is straightforward enough for anyone with reasonable fitness. You'll find yourself climbing through moorland and rocky terrain, the kind of ground that's lovely underfoot when dry but turns to bog after rain. Allow a couple of hours there and back depending on your pace and whether you're stopping to catch your breath at the top. The summit offers sightlines towards Snowdon itself and across to the Menai Strait - on a clear day you're looking at views that stretch for miles.

This isn't the sort of place to drag reluctant kids, to be honest. There's no café at the top, no easy layabout at the summit. But serious walkers and anyone who actually enjoys a bit of mountain graft will find it proper satisfying. It's the kind of walk where you turn up, do the job, and feel you've earned a decent pub lunch back in Caernarfon afterwards.

If you're based at one of the nearby campsites - Talymignedd or Bryn Gloch are closest - it makes for an excellent half-day outing, leaving mornings free for exploring Caernarfon itself or tackling something longer like Snowdon. Spring through autumn works best here, when the ground's more forgiving and visibility generally decent.