Tor y Foel

The walk up Tor y Foel from Brecon takes about ninety minutes, and honestly, it's one of those climbs that rewards you properly. The peak sits at 1,948 feet, which sounds less impressive than it is when you're actually doing it - the paths can be boggy, the wind whips across the ridge, and the reward at the top is a proper sweep of the Brecon Beacons spread out before you.

What you're really after here is the view. On a clear day you can see across to Pen y Fan and beyond, and if you've caught the weather right, the light hits the valleys in a way that makes you understand why people keep coming back to mid-Wales. The actual terrain is moorland - windswept, sparse, real. Walkers will absolutely get their money's worth from this one. Families with teenagers who don't mind a decent hike will be fine, but younger kids might find the exposed ridge a bit relentless.

Going solo or in pairs works best - the path gets crowded on summer weekends, and the moorland doesn't feel like a place that rewards crowds. Allow two and a half to three hours for the round trip depending on fitness and how long you dawdle at the top (and you will dawdle). The whole thing's free, obviously.

Stay at Pencelli Castle or Cwmdu Campsite nearby and work this in alongside other Beacons walks. It's not the busiest peak in the range, which is precisely why it's worth the trip.