Hereford

The River Wye curves lazily through this border country, where Welsh hills roll into English countryside with barely a nod to the international boundary. You're technically in Powys here, though the feel is thoroughly borderland - that unique mix of Celtic mystery and English market town practicality.

Hay-on-Wye sits just downstream, famous for its literary festival and secondhand bookshops, but this stretch of the Wye offers something quieter. The river dominates everything. Paddocks Hill and The Allt frame the valley with their gentle peaks, while ancient sites like Llowes Castle Tump and Y Das, Tomen remind you this has been contested territory for centuries.

Glasbury Cutting Nature Reserve makes for a proper afternoon walk - the old railway cutting now hosts wildlife rather than trains. More adventurous souls should head to The River Wye Activity Centre for canoeing or kayaking. The water runs clean here, flanked by willows and meadows where cattle graze right to the bank.

Maesyronnen Chapel sits tucked into the hills, one of those Welsh Nonconformist gems that dot this landscape like scattered prayers. The surrounding peaks - Rhos Dirion, Pen-y-common, Twyn Talycefn - offer cracking walks with views across three counties on a clear day.

Getting here means the A438 from Hereford, though the lanes can be narrow once you're into proper countryside. The nearest proper town is Hay-on-Wye, five minutes downstream. Staying at one of the riverside parks puts you right in the thick of border country - you can wake up to the sound of the Wye and spend your days exploring hills that have watched empires rise and fall.