Pwll Rhyd-y-porthmyn

A small mountain lake tucked away in the Powys hills near Llanbrynmair, Pwll Rhyd-y-porthmyn is one of those places you stumble upon rather than plan for. The water sits quiet and dark, surrounded by rough grassland and the kind of silence that actually means something. There's a rough path around it, though it's hardly maintained - you'll want proper boots if you've had rain.

Who gets the most from it? Walkers, mainly. This isn't a destination in itself - it's a waypoint, something to tick off if you're rambling the higher ground around Llanbrynmair. The view back toward the valley is decent enough on a clear day, but on a grey Welsh afternoon, which is most of them, the whole place has a melancholy quality that some will find atmospheric and others will find a bit bleak.

There's no visitor infrastructure to speak of. You'll find no café, no car park with a sign, no entrance fee. Just pull over on the road if you can and pick your way across. Give yourself twenty minutes to have a poke around unless you're doing a longer fell walk, in which case factor it into a bigger day out.

If you're staying at Cringoed Caravan Park nearby - a solid four-star base - this makes a nice morning outing if the weather holds. It's bog-standard Mid Wales walking terrain, which means it's real and unglamorous rather than postcard-pretty. That's its charm, really.