Gelli Aur Country Park

The golden valley lives up to its name. Gelli Aur Country Park spreads across 90 acres of woodland and meadow just outside Llandeilo, with the River Towy running through it like a lifeline. You get proper forest walks here - the kind where you actually feel like you've stepped away from things - mixed with open grassland and riverside paths that work just as well for a gentle potter as a proper hike.

It's the sort of place that rewards a couple of hours rather than demanding your whole day. The woodland trails wind through stands of beech and oak, and if you time it right in autumn, the colours are worth the drive alone. The river itself is the real draw - shallow enough in places to paddle, with decent picnic spots along the banks. Families with young kids won't get bored if you're planning to let them loose by the water, but older walkers will appreciate the more remote stretches where you barely see another soul.

Free to wander around, which is refreshing. No charge, no car park fees, no gift shop nonsense. The nearby glamping spots - Gelli Glamping sits barely three miles away, and Ravenscroft Retreats is even closer at two miles - make it easy to base a proper break here without roughing it entirely. Between this, Llandeilo's market town charm just down the road, and the Towy Valley Caravan Park for budget options, you've got the bones of a decent long weekend sorted.