BANNAU BRYCHEINIOG
The only downside of having a host of fascinating sights on the doorstep of your pub is knowing what to call the place. The Dinas Castle Inn is currently named after the highest castle in Wales, the ramparts and ruins of which crown a nearby 1476ft-high knoll, where a fort has defended the Rhiangoll Pass since the Iron Age. But this welcoming, whitewashed pub used to be known as The Dragon’s Back, after the ridge which twists up beyond. Officially marked as YGrib on the OS map, the serpentine crest offers you a thrilling – but never nail-biting – ride up into the Black Mountains, before a broad shelf of peat sweeps you south to Waun Fach, the highest point in the range at 811m/2661ft (even though, oddly, its name means small moor). Views soar out to national park superstars like Sugar Loaf and Pen y Fan, and swoop down into deep valleys including the one sheltering the inn, with its local ales, log fire, pool table and board games. The menu tempts with burgers, chilli con carne, fish and chips – and steak or halloumi seared on hot volcanic rocks. Plenty of options if you want to stay too, with bed and breakfast, a bunkhouse and a campsite – and another great walk on Mynydd Troed, aka the Foot Mountain, starting just across the road. See dinascastleinn.co.uk
WALK HERE: Download your 7-mile Waun Fach route at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
NORTHUMBERLAND
The wooden postcard said ‘send beer’. It was written nearly 2000 years ago at the Roman fort of Vindolanda; today, just over a mile away they brew their own. The Twice Brewed Inn lies a stone’s throw from Emperor Hadrian’s famous wall, which was built in 122AD to defend against the Caledonian tribes to the north. It ran coast to coast, but the 6½ miles past this pub hit many of the surviving highs: quite literally at Winshield Crags, the summit of the wall at 1132ft. There’s also Housesteads Fort, the silvery mirror of Crag Lough, Sycamore Gap (now sadly without sycamore) and next to the pub, The Sill Discovery Centre. After sating your appetite for history, you can tuck into classics like steak pie or sausag
