Maerdy Wood

The old woodland trails around Maerdy feel properly untouched - no manicured paths or visitor centres getting in the way of actual trees. You're in Carmarthenshire proper here, near Rhyd Ar Wen, where the forest does what forests should do: gets quietly on with being a forest. The walks wind through mixed woodland with enough mature oaks and beeches to make you forget the car park exists, even though it's usually just a short stroll away.

For families with young legs, Maerdy works well because the terrain isn't punishing and the kids won't spend the whole time asking how much further. Walkers appreciate it for being the real thing rather than a tourist trap - muddy in winter, properly green in spring, and never crowded enough that you feel like you're queuing for nature. The trails vary in length, so you can do a quick thirty-minute loop or commit to something longer depending on what the weather's throwing at you.

Based near Glynmarch Farm Camping, which sits just five or so miles away, Maerdy fits nicely into a broader South Wales woodland itinerary without feeling like a must-tick box. Go when there's been enough rain to keep the forest floor alive but not so much that you're wading through mud past your boots. It's the kind of place you visit because you actually want to walk in a wood, not because Instagram told you to.