Pen Y Gadair Fawr

The walk up Pen Y Gadair Fawr from near Hereford is proper straightforward but rewards you with views that stretch for miles across the Welsh border country. It's not a lung-busting scramble - more of a steady climb through moorland and bracken that takes most people somewhere between ninety minutes and two hours depending on fitness and how often you stop to catch your breath.

What you get at the top is a real sense of space. On a clear day you're looking out over the Black Mountains and into Wales, with Hereford itself visible down in the valley behind you. The peak itself isn't dramatic - no dramatic rock formations or anything theatrical - but that's partly why it works. It feels genuine rather than manufactured.

Walkers will find this excellent. It's the sort of walk that gives you proper exercise without needing technical kit or experience. Families with kids aged eight upwards could manage it fine, though younger ones might find the distance a slog. History types won't find much up there, but the broader landscape tells its own story - this is borderland, and you feel that as you stand looking west.

If you're staying at one of the nearby campsites - Olchon Valley is closest at under four miles away - this makes a cracking half-day outing. Combine it with a mooch around Hereford town itself and you've got a solid day. Start early if the forecast looks decent. Wind gets up here properly.