Pant y Groes

The forest spreads across hillside above Porthcawl like a proper green blanket, and it's the sort of place you stumble into expecting ten minutes of woodland and end up losing half the afternoon. Pant y Groes - the name means "hollow of the crosses" - isn't flashy or famous, which is exactly why it works so well.

What you get here are straightforward walking trails threading through mixed woodland, streams that babble properly in winter, and enough quiet to actually hear yourself think. The paths are well-maintained without being over-engineered. In spring the forest floor erupts with bluebells. Summer brings shade when you need it. Autumn turns everything copper and gold, which sounds like a postcard line but genuinely happens.

This is gold for walkers who've had enough of crowded visitor centres. Families with kids aged eight and up will find plenty to do - there's enough scrambling about to keep them entertained without it being outright challenging. If you're staying at Trecco Bay Holiday Park just down the road, Pant y Groes makes a cracking half-day detour. The forest sits close enough to Porthcawl that you could easily combine it with a beach walk afterward.

Allow two to three hours if you want to explore properly. Bring waterproofs - Welsh forests stay damp long after rain stops. Park in the area and come on a weekday morning if you can. Weekends pull families from Porthcawl, and the quiet evaporates. Free to enter, as far as anyone can tell, which makes it exceptional value.