Pond Bwlchgwyn

Getting to Pond Bwlchgwyn means leaving Aberystwyth behind and heading into proper hill country - the kind of place where the landscape feels like it's still deciding what it wants to be. This small lake sits in the Ceredigion uplands, nowhere near as showy as Bala or Vyrnwy but all the better for it.

It's a straightforward walk that rewards you with something genuine - moorland views that stretch on without the crowds. The water itself is quiet and dark, reflecting the sky properly rather than looking like a postcard. You're not coming here for facilities or a visitor centre with a gift shop. There's no cafe, no car park with a picnic area. What you get instead is solitude and the sort of landscape that makes you understand why people write poems about Wales.

Walkers will find it worthwhile, especially those who don't mind a bit of rough ground. Families with young children might find the approach tedious - it's not a stroll. Birdwatchers and landscape photographers will understand the appeal immediately.

With Tyn Ffordd Fach campsite and Woodlands Caravan Park both within easy reach, it slots perfectly into a Ceredigion holiday where you're mixing coastal time in Aberystwyth with wilder inland ventures. Allow a couple of hours including the walk. Go when the light is decent - grey drizzle is atmospheric but it's the clear days that linger in your memory. Free, naturally, though you'll need proper boots.