Fan Brycheiniog

The walk up Fan Brycheiniog takes the better part of two hours if you're not pushing hard, and you'll earn every step. This 902-metre peak sits in the Brecon Beacons proper, the kind of mountain that rewards effort without requiring mountaineering skills. The summit gives you proper 360-degree views across South Wales - on a clear day you're looking toward Swansea and the coast in one direction, then back across the Beacons ridgeline in the other.

It's a walker's mountain, full stop. Families with confident kids aged ten and up will manage it fine; younger ones might find the final push steep. There's no café, no facilities, no pretence. Just moorland, bog in places, and the genuine article. The route from Storey Arms car park is well-trodden enough to follow without getting lost, though boots are essential when it's wet - which in Wales is most of the time.

Allow a solid half-day from Swansea, maybe longer if you're stopping to sit on the summit and actually look around. Autumn is excellent here when the light gets low and turns everything gold. Summer brings the crowds, but they thin out as soon as people realise there's no shortcut.

If you're based at Aber Glamping or Brecon Beacons Camping & Caravan Park nearby, this makes a perfect full-day venture. It's the kind of walk that justifies parking yourself in the area for a week rather than chasing a dozen half-hearted attractions.