Y Star Inn

You have to be an adventurer to make it to Dylife: for one thing, it is less a settlement than a disparate scattering of houses spread-eagled around old mine workings off a minor road high in the Cambrian Mountains; for another, it is unlikely you would need to come this way unless you were specifically seeking out remoteness. And so the whitewashed, 17th-century drovers watering hole of Y Star Inn attracts lovers of the ruggedly wild outdoors, including bikers (it’s on Sustrans Route 8) and hikers (it’s on legendary long-distance trails the Cambrian Way and Glyndŵr’s Way).

What is one of Wales’ remotest hostelries has eight rooms available. Brightly flowery blue- or pink-coloured rooms are simple but spacious, and four have baths in their en suite bathrooms. But the views are the truly jaw-dropping, especially if you scoop one facing frontwards to the green mountainside swooping up dramatically across the road. Do not go to sleep too swiftly though: the hills here are one of the UK’s best dark sky zones and views of the heavens can be phenomenal.

Down in the surprisingly modern bar and restaurant, staff are well used to serving hearty portions to famished walkers, whether that is locally-caught Clywedog Reservoir trout or Welsh lamb and mint pie. Real ales include the likes of Monty’s, from Montgomery.

For fans of remote upland countryside, it is a choose-your-own-adventure right on the doorstep.