Tan-y-Bwlch

The drive up to Tan-y-Bwlch catches you off guard. What starts as a narrow lane through Snowdonia suddenly opens out onto this proper high viewpoint, and you realise why locals keep quiet about it. The views across the Vale of Ffestiniog are genuinely striking - on a clear day you're looking at layers of green hills rolling toward the coast, with Snowdon looming in the distance if you squint the right way.

It's free and there's a decent car park, which means families won't feel guilty about stopping for twenty minutes. The walk itself is minimal unless you fancy scrambling up to the actual summit cairn, but even then we're talking fifteen minutes maximum. Kids under ten will get a kick out of spotting the castles and lakes below; older ones will bore quickly unless you give them binoculars and a purpose.

The wind can be properly brutal up here - bring a jacket even in summer. Best visited in late afternoon when the light's softer and the tour buses from Talsarnau have moved on to somewhere else. Winter mornings often give you clear skies before the clouds roll in.

If you're based at one of the nearby campsites - Barcdy or Cae Du are closest - this works brilliantly as a forty-minute spin before breakfast or an evening leg-stretch. Don't make it your main event of the day, but as a supplement to walks in the Moelwyns or a visit to Snowdonia proper, it's well worth the detour. Proper spot for photos too, if that matters to you.