Pontyclun

Pontyclun sits in a gentler part of South Wales than its neighbours suggest. Where Cardiff pulls in the crowds and the valleys to the north carry their industrial weight, this stretch of the Vale of Glamorgan is quieter and more spread out, made up of villages, farmland and a market town centre rather than terraces stacked up a hillside. It works well as a base precisely because it sits between the two: close enough to the city and the coast to visit either, far enough away to come back to somewhere calmer.

Where you stay here tends to set the tone for the trip. Lanelay Hall is the grand option, a country house with grounds that make it feel removed from the town around it, while Llanerch Vineyard offers something more particular to the area, rooms among working vines and the kind of setting you would not expect this close to Cardiff. Haveli Hotel rounds out the choices for those who want something more central and straightforward.

It adds up to a town that does not try to be a miniature Cardiff or a valleys stronghold, but something distinct from both: a base with a vineyard, a country house, a mint, and a surprising number of places to eat, all within easy reach of the bigger names around it.