Llechwedd Diflas

The walk up Llechwedd Diflas from Aberystwyth is steep, proper steep, but the effort gets you somewhere genuinely worthwhile. Once you're at the top, you understand why locals bother with the climb - the view across Cardigan Bay is the sort that makes you stand still for longer than you intended. On a clear day, you can see right down the coast, and the stretch of coastline below feels almost impossibly distant despite being walkable from town.

It's a peak for proper walkers rather than casual strollers. The path is well-defined enough, but it's relentless uphill, and there's little shelter once you're committed. Allow a good hour or so to get up there without rushing, then another hour-ish back down. The descent is harder on the knees than the ascent.

Don't expect much at the summit itself - no café, no trig point with a ring-pull, just the landscape and whoever else had the same idea. That said, it's exactly this lack of faffing about that makes it appealing. If you're staying at Gwerniago Campsite just outside town, this makes for a solid half-day walk that justifies the drive to Wales. The campsite's within easy distance, so you can head out in the morning and be back for lunch.

Worth doing once. Not for the casual walker, but for anyone who wants a proper Welsh viewpoint without joining the crush at better-known spots.