Llanarth

Wild ponies graze freely across the hills above this small Ceredigion village, where Welsh voices still carry on the morning breeze. Llanarth sits quietly in the Aeron Valley, a proper rural retreat where the pace slows to match the meandering river that flows toward Cardigan Bay just a few miles west.

The village itself won't detain you long - it's more a collection of whitewashed cottages and working farms than a tourist destination. But that's precisely the point. This is authentic mid-Wales, where sheep outnumber visitors and the nearest excitement comes from market day in Aberaeron, eight miles down the valley.

Allt Llanerchaeron provides the area's best walking, with footpaths leading up through bracken and gorse to panoramic views across the valley. The climb's not too taxing, though it's muddy after rain - which is fairly often in these parts.

Aberaeron makes for a lovely afternoon trip, with its famous ice cream and Georgian harbour houses painted in seaside pastels. The coast here is all pebble beaches and rockpools, proper bucket-and-spade territory if the weather behaves.

Getting here requires a car - the A482 winds through some stunning countryside from Lampeter, about twelve miles southeast. Aberystwyth lies twenty miles north if you fancy a proper day out by the sea.

Staying at one of the local parks makes perfect sense for exploring this corner of Wales without the crowds. You're well-placed for coastal walks, the Cambrian Mountains, and those lovely market towns that dot the Teifi Valley. It's the sort of place where you rediscover what a proper holiday feels like.