Knighton

The train pulls into Knucklas station and you're already deep in borderland territory, where Welsh hills roll into English valleys with barely a care for county boundaries. Knighton sits right on Offa's Dyke - that ancient earthwork King Offa built to keep the Welsh at bay - and the town still feels like it's caught between two worlds.

St Mary's stands sentinel over the market square, but it's the surrounding peaks that really steal the show. Cefn Hepreas and Llanfair Hill offer proper walking territory, while Bailey Hill gives you that satisfying burn in the legs and cracking views across the borderlands. The landscape here is all rolling green with sudden dramatic climbs.

History buffs should make time for Beguildy Castle ruins and Caer Caradoc, an Iron Age hillfort that predates even Offa's grand plans. These ancient sites feel properly atmospheric on misty mornings. For a gentler afternoon, the forests around Tilhill and Cwm Gilla Wood provide decent woodland walking without the lung-busting climbs.

The town itself is proper market town quiet - you won't find crowds here even in summer. Chapel Lawn Village Sign might sound mundane, but it's part of that authentic rural charm that city folk pay good money to experience for a fortnight.

Getting here takes a bit of planning. The nearest proper town is Ludlow, about 20 miles south, though you're better off thinking of this as Mid Wales territory despite the English postcode. The train service to Knucklas is handy if you're coming from the Midlands.

Staying at one of the local glamping spots makes perfect sense. You're in prime walking country with Offa's Dyke Path practically on your doorstep, and after a day tramping the hills around Garn Bank or New Invention Hill, you'll appreciate having somewhere comfortable to collapse.