Llanidloes

Llanidloes has never been a hotel town in the conventional sense, and that is part of its charm — accommodation here leans towards traditional coaching inns, independent guesthouses and farmhouse bed and breakfasts rather than chain hotels or large resorts. The town's handsome timber-framed streets, centred on the 17th-century Old Market Hall, are lined with period townhouses that have been converted into comfortable small-scale lodgings, many run by owners with detailed local knowledge of the walking and cycling routes that radiate out from the town along Glyndwr's Way and the Severn Way.

Beyond the town itself, a scatter of farmhouse B&Bs and country guesthouses sit in the hills towards the Clywedog Reservoir and the Hafren Forest, offering the kind of quiet, unhurried stay that suits visitors here for the walking, birdwatching or simply the scenery rather than nightlife or shopping. Expect hearty breakfasts, log fires in winter and hosts who can point you towards the best local paths or the nearest decent pub. Self-catering cottages and converted barns are common in the surrounding villages, popular with families and groups wanting a base for exploring the wider Cambrian Mountains.

Because Llanidloes is a small town in a sparsely populated part of Mid Wales, it pays to book ahead during the summer festival season and during peak walking months, when the limited number of rooms fills quickly. Newtown, a short drive to the north, offers a wider range of hotel-style accommodation for those who want more choice, while still being close enough for day trips into Llanidloes and the hills beyond.

The town and its hinterland reward slow exploration, from timber-framed streets to reservoir-side forest trails.

• The Old Market Hall — the black-and-white timbered hall of 1612-22 standing at the crossroads of the town, the oldest market hall of its type still on its original site in Wales.
• Source of the River Severn — a waymarked walk into the Hafren Forest leads to the spring on the slopes of Pumlumon where Britain's longest river begins, forming the first stage of the Severn Way.
• Clywedog Reservoir and Dam — completed in 1967, the dam is the tallest concrete dam in Britain at around 72 metres, with a reservoir road and viewpoints looking out over the water and surrounding hills.
• Hafren Forest — a working conifer forest laced with waymarked trails, including the popular walk to the Severn-Break-Its-Neck waterfall and cascades.
• Llanidloes Museum — a small local museum housed in the Market Hall building, covering the town's history as a centre for the wool and flannel trade.
• Glyndwr's Way — the long-distance National Trail passes directly through the town, linking Llanidloes with Knighton and Welshpool across some of Mid Wales' quietest countryside.
• St Idloes' Church — the parish church incorporates 15th-century arcading said to have been brought from the dissolved Cwmhir Abbey.

The Great Oak Café on Great Oak Street has long been a fixture for wholefood and vegetarian cooking, with a daily-changing menu of soups, salads and home baking made from largely local ingredients. The Angel on High Street is a traditional town-centre pub serving as a good spot for a pint after a day on the hills, while a handful of other cafés and tearooms around the Market Hall cater for daytime visitors passing through on the Severn Way or Glyndwr's Way. For a wider choice of eating out, Newtown, a short drive north, offers a larger range of restaurants and takeaways.

Llanidloes sits right on the edge of some of the wildest, least populated hill country in Wales, which makes it a natural draw for campers heading for the Cambrian Mountains, Clywedog Reservoir and Hafren Forest. As in the rest of Wales, wild camping without the landowner's permission is against the law, so campers need to use one of the area's established campsites or caravan parks, or seek explicit permission from a landowner before pitching on open hillside. Fortunately the area around Llanidloes has a good spread of small, independently run sites, many geared specifically towards walkers on Glyndwr's Way and the Severn Way, and towards those visiting the reservoir and forest.

The terrain here is proper upland Wales — steep-sided valleys, conifer plantations, open sheep-grazed hills and fast-flowing rivers — so most sites sit in the more sheltered valley bottoms around the town or along the Clywedog and Severn valleys rather than on the exposed tops. Facilities tend to be simple and family-run rather than resort-style, which suits the low-key character of the area, and several sites offer easy access to fishing on the reservoir, forest walks straight from the gate, or riverside pitches on the Severn itself.

Late spring to early autumn is the best window for camping around Llanidloes, when the ground is driest and the long evenings suit sitting out after a day on the hills; the area can be notably wet and exposed for camping outside these months, given its position in one of the higher-rainfall parts of Mid Wales. For those who prefer a roof over their heads without giving up the outdoor feel, glamping options — shepherd's huts, pods and yurts — have become more widespread in the hills around Llanidloes in recent years, offering a comfortable base for exploring the reservoir, the forest and the source of the Severn without needing your own tent and full kit.