Gaer Fawr Hillfort

The walk up to Gaer Fawr is steep enough to make you question your choices, but once you're standing on that Iron Age hillfort above Aberystwyth, you'll understand why someone built a fortress here two thousand years ago. The views across Cardigan Bay are genuinely arresting - on a clear day you can see for miles, which is precisely the point of a hillfort. You're looking at ramparts and ditches that are still visible today, a proper reminder that this landscape has been fought over and fortified since ancient times.

It's not a packaged attraction with interpretation boards or a visitor centre. This is archaeology in the raw - you turn up, you climb, you see what remains. That makes it brilliant for anyone interested in Iron Age Wales, or walkers after a proper challenge with historical meat on the bones. Families with older kids will manage the hike; younger ones might find it a slog without much to do once you're up there except admire the view and poke around the earthworks.

Allow a solid two hours if you're coming from Aberystwyth town - the walk itself is no stroll. It's free to visit and open whenever you fancy, since there's no gate or infrastructure. Come on a decent day; in proper Welsh rain and mist, you lose the very thing that makes this worth the effort - that commanding vista.

Stay at one of the glamping spots nearby - Silver Fern or Brynllwyd are both within easy driving distance - and pair this with other Ceredigion walks. It's a brilliant bit of solitary archaeology.