Pen-Y-Sarn-Ddu

The walk up Pen-Y-Sarn-Ddu is short, sharp, and genuinely rewarding. From Borth, you're looking at maybe forty minutes of steady climbing through rough moorland to reach the 565-metre summit, where the views across Cardigan Bay and inland toward the Cambrian mountains suddenly make the scramble worthwhile. On a clear day, you can pick out the curve of the coast proper - Aberystwyth sits somewhere south, and the landscape rolls away in layers of green and grey that justify the effort.

It's a walker's peak rather than a saunter. The terrain is boggy in patches, the path isn't always obvious, and there's nothing soft about the final push upward. But that's exactly what makes it good - no tourists queuing for Instagram shots, no visitor centre, no faffing about. Just you, the Welsh hills, and proper countryside. Families with kids who can manage uneven ground will get something real out of this. Casual tourists after an easy viewpoint should probably look elsewhere.

Free to walk, naturally. Allow a couple of hours return trip, or longer if you're taking in the views properly. Autumn and spring are best - summer can be boggy, winter can be bleak. If you're staying at Cambrian Coast Holiday Park or Aber Camping nearby, this makes a solid half-day outing that doesn't require a car journey. Worth the detour if you actually like hills rather than just enjoying the idea of them.