Yeld Wood

Ancient woodland doesn't get much better than Yeld Wood, a proper slice of Mid Wales forest just outside Presteigne. The trees here are genuinely old - you can feel the age in the gnarled trunks and the way the canopy blocks out most of the sky even on bright days. There's something about walking through beech and oak this established that makes you forget you're only minutes from a small market town.

The wood itself is straightforward walking territory. Paths wind through, though they're not always obvious and the place has that pleasantly overgrown quality you either love or find slightly annoying. Kids will spend a happy hour scrambling about, looking for whatever passes for adventure in a forest. Adults after proper woodland quiet will find it here. It's the kind of place that's best after rain, when everything smells like soil and the whole wood feels properly alive.

If you're based at Presteigne Holiday Park or the glamping spots closer by, Yeld Wood makes an easy morning or afternoon outing - close enough that you won't lose half the day driving. There's no visitor centre or facilities to speak of, so come prepared. Free to access, which is always welcome. Allow a couple of hours if you're properly exploring, though you can do a quick thirty-minute wander if time's tight. Spring and autumn are best - less mud than winter, less heat haze than summer.