Cardigan

A Victorian bridge arches gracefully over the Afon Teifi where Wales's first university town meets the sea. Cardigan proper sits on the river's edge, its Georgian terraces climbing away from the old quayside where coracles once brought salmon upstream.

The town centre runs down towards the ancient castle ruins, though most visitors bypass the high street entirely on their way to Ceibwr Beach - a cracking stretch of sand and rock pools that's never quite as busy as the Gower equivalents. From the clifftops above, you can spot seals hauling out on the rocks below.

Rising inland, the countryside turns properly wild quite quickly. Pantsaeson Hill and Pen Garn offer decent walks with views right across Cardigan Bay, while the mysterious Trefaes Ganol Standing Stone sits alone in farmland that's been grazed for centuries. Ancient churches like St Cristiolus and St Nicholas' dot the landscape, their weathered stones telling stories older than the town itself.

Cardigan makes sense as a base rather than a destination. It's got shops, pubs, and that essential bit of Welsh market town character, but you'll spend most of your time exploring outwards. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs right past Ceibwr Beach, and the whole of north Pembrokeshire opens up within a half-hour drive.

Getting here means the A487 from either Haverfordwest or Aberystwyth - both about an hour away. The town's compact enough to walk, though you'll want a car for the beaches and hill walks. Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks gives you easy access to both the coast and the inland walking country, without the summer parking hassles that plague the more famous Pembrokeshire spots.