Pen-Y-Golfa

The walk up Pen-Y-Golfa from Welshpool is one of those proper countryside efforts that rewards you properly once you're up there. It's not a massive peak - we're talking around 1,000 feet - but the climb is steady and the final stretch gets properly steep. The summit itself gives you sweeping views across the Powys valleys, with the Shropshire hills visible on clearer days. You get a real sense of being somewhere at the edge of things, looking out across Mid Wales without the crowds you'd find on Snowdon.

This is a walker's outing, plain and simple. Not much here for kids to hold their attention for long once they've reached the top - there's no café, no visitor centre, no distractions. Family groups might prefer the easier circuit walks through the lower valleys nearby. But for anyone after a solid two-hour hill walk with proper views and a bit of solitude, you'll have a cracking time.

The climb takes about 90 minutes depending on fitness, so allow three hours return including a break at the top. Go early if you're heading out from one of the nearby holiday parks - Derwen Mill or Hidden Valley are closest at under three miles away - and you'll have the path mostly to yourself. Spring and autumn are your best bets weatherwise, though even on a grey Welsh day the views reward the effort. Free to access, naturally. There's parking near the trailhead, though spots fill quickly on weekends.