Mid Wales is one of the UK’s most peaceful destinations for self-guided walking holidays, where quiet valleys, open moors, and wide skies offer space to slow down and explore at your own pace. This is Wales at its most tranquil — remote, raw, and deeply calming, with soft light, long horizons, and landscapes shaped by rivers, ridges, and ancient woodland.
Beyond walking, Mid Wales is also a natural playground for outdoor adventures. From wild swimming in upland lakes to paddling gentle rivers, mountain biking across high plateaus, or stargazing beneath protected dark skies, this is a region built for unhurried journeys and time spent outdoors.
It’s also a rewarding destination for cycling holidays, with quiet roads, bridleways, and scenic valley routes cutting through one of Britain’s least-crowded landscapes. And with rural cottages, welcoming market towns, and independent places to stay, it’s easy to base yourself close to the trails you want to explore.
Whether you’re here for long ridge walks, multi-day adventures, or peaceful weekends away, Mid Wales offers solitude, stillness, and landscapes that stay with you long after you’ve left.
Often described as the Green Desert of Wales, the Cambrian Mountains offer some of the most untouched upland walking in Britain. Expect big skies, empty ridgelines, remote valleys, wild ponies, and a true sense of freedom. This is also one of the UK’s top regions for mountain biking, wild swimming, nature watching, and stargazing inside the International Dark Sky Reserve.
A spectacular landscape of Victorian dams, forested hillsides, and glittering reservoirs. Trails range from gentle lakeside circuits to longer moorland loops, with opportunities for cycling, photography, and peaceful paddle sessions on calm waters. One of Wales’s most atmospheric outdoor regions.
This quiet, softly rolling landscape offers a different kind of beauty: grassy ridges, farm tracks, airy vistas, and some of the least-walked hills in Wales. Glyndŵr’s Way, a 135-mile National Trail named after the Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr, weaves through Radnorshire’s uplands and makes an ideal multi-day walking route or long-distance cycling adventure.
You can walk remote trails in the Cambrian Mountains, explore the Elan Valley’s reservoir paths, paddle rivers and lakes, enjoy scenic cycling, go horse riding, and experience some of the UK’s darkest night skies.
The Cambrian Mountains offer outstanding ridge walks, the Elan Valley provides scenic circuits, and Glyndŵr’s Way National Trail is the region’s principal long-distance route. The Radnorshire Hills are perfect for quiet day hikes.
Yes. Alongside walking, the region is ideal for wild swimming, cycling, kayaking, mountain biking, horse riding, and stargazing within the Dark Sky Reserve.
Late spring to early autumn offers mild weather and rich green landscapes. Winter is quieter and dramatic but better suited to experienced walkers seeking solitude.
Yes. Mid Wales supports a range of self-guided and guided walking holidays, from short rural escapes to multi-day upland routes, often combined with cycling or paddling.