Llangadog

The Heart of Wales railway line cuts through this sleepy market town where sheep outnumber tourists ten to one most days of the week. Llangadog sits pretty in the Towy Valley, with the rolling Carmarthenshire countryside stretching in every direction and the Black Mountain looming to the south.

Carn Goch dominates the southern skyline - two Iron Age hillforts perched on twin peaks that locals still call The Large Fort and The Small Fort. Proper views from up there if you don't mind the climb. The town itself keeps things simple: a few shops, the railway station serving the scenic Heart of Wales line, and enough chapels to suggest this was once a thriving community centre.

Wander beyond the town boundaries and you'll find Mynydd Llansadwrn offering decent walking, while Caio Forest provides shelter when the Welsh weather turns. Llansadwrn Church houses local history if you're into that sort of thing, and Andrew McCutcheon's gallery showcases regional artists.

Getting here means either the train from Shrewsbury or Swansea, or driving the winding A40. Llandeilo lies eight miles east if you need proper shops and restaurants.

Staying at one of the nearby parks makes perfect sense - you're bang in the middle of some of Wales' most underrated walking country, with the Brecon Beacons a short drive south and the coast reachable in forty minutes. Places like Gelli Glamping and Riverside Pods put you right in the countryside without the town's limited accommodation options. It's quiet here. Properly quiet. Some might find it too quiet, but that's rather the point.