The best mountains in Wales for a day walk from the van

Wales has the best mountain walking in Britain for the time it takes to get there. Nothing is more than a few hours from the Midlands, the big hills are compact enough to do in a day, and almost every valley has a pub at the bottom of it. This is our list, in no particular order of merit, with the honest version of what each one is like.

Heights are given because everyone asks. They're all in metres.

Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), 1,085 m

The one everyone does, and it's still worth it. The summit is busy and the café is a building site of a thing, but the ridges are magnificent and on a clear day you can see Ireland.

Parking is the problem. The Pen-y-Pass car park must be booked in advance and sells out weeks ahead in summer. Park lower down and use the Sherpa'r Wyddfa bus, or walk from Llanberis, Rhyd Ddu or Nant Gwynant. The Rhyd Ddu path is the quietest of the main routes and has a pub at the bottom.

Best for: a first big Welsh mountain. Avoid: bank holiday weekends, unless you like queuing for a summit cairn.

Tryfan, 918 m

The best-looking mountain in Wales and the only one on this list you can't walk up. Every route involves using your hands, and the north ridge is a proper grade 1 scramble that goes on for a long time. The summit is two rock pillars, Adam and Eve, and the traditional leap between them is entirely optional.

Park in the lay-bys along the A5 at Llyn Ogwen (early) or at Ogwen Cottage. Pair it with the Glyderau for a very big day, or just do Tryfan and sit by the lake.

Best for: people who like rock. Avoid: if it's wet and you haven't scrambled before.

Cadair Idris, 893 m

A southern outlier with a northern face that looks like it belongs in the Alps. The Minffordd path from the Dôl Idris car park climbs through oak woods past waterfalls to Llyn Cau, then up the rim of the cwm to the summit. There's a stone shelter on top. Legend says you wake up a poet or a madman if you sleep there.

The Pony Path from Ty Nant on the Dolgellau side is gentler. Both are long days with a lot of ascent.

Best for: drama without crowds. Avoid: the Fox's Path descent, which is loose and steep.

Pen y Fan, 886 m

The highest point in southern Britain and the easiest big summit in Wales. From the Pont ar Daf car park on the A470 it's a wide, well-made path to the top in about an hour and a half, which is why the army trains here and why it's heaving on sunny Sundays.

Make it better by doing the horseshoe: Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and down the Roman road, or start from the Neuadd reservoirs on the south side where hardly anyone goes.

Best for: a quick hit on the way west. Avoid: thinking it's a stroll in winter. People get caught out here every year.

The Glyderau: Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr, 994 m and 1,001 m

The strangest summits in the country. Glyder Fach is a jumble of enormous shattered rock with the Cantilever Stone balanced on top; Glyder Fawr is a field of spikes. On a misty day it's like walking across another planet.

Start from Ogwen, go up past Llyn Idwal and the Devil's Kitchen (steep, but a path), and come back down the Gribin ridge if you're confident or the Miners' Track if you're not.

Best for: photographs. Avoid: navigating by sight in cloud. The plateau is confusing.

Moel Siabod, 872 m

The best view of Yr Wyddfa in Wales, from a hill most people drive past. Start at Pont Cyfyng near Capel Curig, walk in past the old quarry, and go up the Daear Ddu ridge, an easy scramble that can be bypassed if you'd rather. Come down the broad north-east ridge straight back to the village and its pubs.

Best for: a half day that feels like a full one. Avoid: nothing. It's a lovely hill.

Fan Brycheiniog, 802 m

The high point of the Black Mountain (Y Mynydd Du) at the quiet western end of Bannau Brycheiniog. The walk in from the lane end past Llyn y Fan Fach, up the escarpment and along the rim above Llyn y Fan Fawr, is one of the finest in south Wales and you will share it with sheep.

Best for: solitude. Avoid: the single-track lanes with a wide van.

Rhinog Fawr, 720 m

Not high, but the roughest walking in Wales. The Rhinogydd are a wilderness of heather, boulders and hidden lakes between Harlech and Trawsfynydd, and Rhinog Fawr from Cwm Bychan via the Roman Steps is the classic way in. Slow, trackless above the pass, and utterly empty.

Best for: people who've done the famous ones. Avoid: in a hurry. Plan on a mile an hour on the tops.

Where to sleep

The Ogwen valley and Nant Gwynant have campsites within walking distance of the starts. For the southern hills, the villages along the A470 have pubs with big car parks. Search stopovers in Wales in the library, and look for the combos where the walk leaves from the pub.

Whatever you choose, check the forecast on the day, carry the kit in what to carry on a hill walk, and know how to call for help. The Welsh hills are small enough to do in a day and big enough to kill you.