Gilfach Wood

Gilfach Wood sits about four miles from Welshpool, tucked into the Powys countryside where the walking's proper rewarding and you won't fight crowds. It's an old-growth woodland - the sort of place where you actually notice the quiet - with mixed broadleaves and enough space to disappear into for a couple of hours without seeing another soul.

You can walk the paths freely. There's no visitor centre or café, just forest. Bring good boots because the ground gets boggy after rain, and the light filtering through the canopy changes constantly depending on the season. Spring brings bluebells if you time it right. Summer's thick and green. Autumn's the real draw - reds and golds bounce off the stream that runs through the woodland floor.

This works best for walkers who actually like walking, not the café-and-souvenir-shop crowd. Families with restless toddlers might find it a bit relentless after the first twenty minutes, but older kids who'll scramble over fallen logs and hunt for wildlife will be kept busy. It's free to enter and open access, so you can roll up whenever suits you.

If you're staying at Brook Valley Glamping or one of the other parks within five miles of Welshpool, Gilfach Wood makes a proper half-day outing. Pair it with a walk into town for lunch and you've got a solid day sorted. The woodland's best visited in drier spells - muddy paths are fine, but waterlogged ones are grim.