Crickhowell, United Kingdom

Compact CRICKHOWELL (Crug Hywel) lies on the northern bank of the wide and shallow Usk. Apart from a grand seventeenth-century bridge, with thirteen arches visible from the eastern end and only twelve from the west, spawning many a local myth, there's not much to see in town. Table Mountain (1481ft) provides a spectacular northern backdrop, topped by the remains of the 2500-year-old hill fort (crug) of Hywel, accessed on a path past The Wern, off Llanbedr Road. Many walkers follow a route north from Table Mountain, climbing two miles up to the plateau-topped limestone hump of Pen Cerrig-calch (2302ft) and on to Pen Allt-mawr from where a circular route can be completed.

Accommodation is abundant, with a grandiose coaching inn, the Bear Hotel, on Beaufort St (Tel:01873/810408, Web: www.bearhotel.co.uk ; Price: £70), and the cheerfully relaxed Dragon on the High Street (Tel:01873/810362, Web: www.dragonhotel.co.uk ; Price: £60); for cheaper B&B, try Greenhill Villas on Beaufort Street (Tel:01873/811177, Web: www.greenhillvillas.com ; Price: £40). The town-centre Riverside Parkcampsite lies on New Road (Tel:01873/810397).

There's no shortage of places to eat and drink in and around Crickhowell: try Number 18, 18 High St, for daytime sandwiches, paninis and great coffee. Evening food is available in the town's pubs: the Bear Hotel (see above) wins legions of awards for its heavenly, pricier-than-average bar and restaurant food. Down by the town bridge, the Bridge End pub serves fine food, while a mile along the A40 towards Brecon is the fabulous Nantyffin Cider Mill Inn (Tel:01873/810775), with real ales and ciders as well as tasty food. A mile in the other direction, along the narrow Llangenny Lane, you'll find the unpretentious and rustic ADragon's Head (Tel:01873/810350) dishing up gargantuan portions of extremely tasty food.