Foel Llanfendigaid

The walk up Foel Llanfendigaid from Tywyn is one of those modest Welsh climbs that surprises you. At 621 metres, it's not going to leave you gasping, but the views across Cardigan Bay and back towards the Snowdonia massif are genuinely worth the leg work. The summit itself is a bit bare and windswept - don't expect a shelter or a café - but on a clear day you can see right across to Barmouth and beyond.

Most walkers tackle it as a straightforward out-and-back from the village of Llanfendigaid, which lies just inland from Tywyn. Allow a couple of hours return, depending on pace and how much mucking about you do looking at the view. It's proper accessible stuff, neither too technical nor too dull for reasonably fit families. Kids will manage it fine if they're used to hills.

The real pull here is the relative quietness. You won't fight crowds like you might on the bigger Snowdonia peaks, and that makes it feel rather special. The moorland around the summit has a lonely, windswept quality that's very Welsh. Weather matters - come up here in fog and you'll see roughly nothing, so pick a decent day.

If you're based at Cae Du Campsite, just a twenty-minute walk away, or at one of the other holiday parks dotting the Tywyn area, this peak slots in nicely as a half-day expedition. It's the sort of walk locals do when they can't be bothered with the tourist circus on Snowdon. That alone makes it worth your time.