Aberdare

Aberdare's spread of places to stay tells you a lot about the town. There are straightforward options like Premier Inn Aberdare and No 30 Aberdare for anyone passing through the valleys, cosier pub rooms at The Falcon Inn Retreat and The Marquis Inn, and Lighthouse for something a bit different. But it's the campsites that hint at what really draws people here: Dare Valley Country Park, Pen y Bryn, and Tunnel Glamping all sit close to the hills and open ground that ring the town, and staying under canvas or in a glamping pod puts you right in the landscape rather than just looking at it from a car window.

That landscape is the point of a visit. Dare Valley Country Park itself is both a place to camp and a proper attraction in its own right, with paths and space to walk through reclaimed valley scenery that once would have been industrial. For something more adrenaline-driven, Zip World Tower has made a name for itself on the site of the old colliery, sending people flying across ground that used to be worked for coal. Dragons Den Aberdare adds another reason to base yourself here rather than just pass through on the way to somewhere bigger.

Put together, Aberdare works well as a base for a few days rather than a single afternoon stop. You can sleep in a hotel bed in the town centre one night and wake up in a tent or glamping pod in the country park the next, treating the zip lines and valley walks as your daytime activity and the town's cafes and restaurants as where you wind down. It's an area that rewards a slower pace, built around its old industrial ground rather than in spite of it.