15 pretty places to visit in Wales that are still a secret

Depending on how strictly you disseminate fact from legend, Wales is a land of witches, Neolithic burial mounds, giants, Kings and anthropomorphic beasts with heroes, from Arthur to Merlin, that seem equally at home in comic strips as they do in academic treatises. But why pick hairs about the verity of some of the legends when the landscapes are this abundantly fecund and gorgeous? Whether you hanker for the truth or bathe in the myths, here are 15 of the most exquisite places to visit in Wales (that are still a secret) to track down for yourself.

North Wales and Anglesey

Gop Hill, Denbighshire.Alamy

The Gop, nr Prestatyn

For a nation that loves place names with multiple vowels, there’s a simplicity to the name ‘Gop’, which undermines its caliginous origins. Four miles south of Prestatyn, the views of the Clwydian Hills from the summit would have been, and still are, impressive enough. So what motivated the construction of an extra mound of earth to raise the peak even higher is a mystery. Regardless, the result is the second-largest artificial Neolithic burial mound in the UK. Prehistoric remnants have been found in the mound itself and in the nearby caves where, one can only assume, maledictions were once intoned to ancient, and perhaps rather demanding, Gods.

How to get there: Park on the High Street in the village of Trelawnyd (on the A5151) and follow the gravel path that leads off the street. Follow the yellow signs to the Gop

Penmon lighthouse with Puffin Island in the background, Anglesey, WalesGetty Images

Puffin Island

As the name strongly implies, you will see puffins here, but they’re dwarfed by the great cormorant population, which outnumbers the human population by an easy piece of math: around 750 to precisely none. Uninhabited for centuries, Puffin Island, lying off the eastern coast of Anglesey, was a monastery before it was moved to the mainland at some point in the sixth century. Seals are here most of the year and, while you can’t set foot on the island anymore, it’s easy to see the birdlife from the boat trips that chug around the perimeter. When not gazing upon the razorbills and guillemots, take a look at the old quarries; this is where the limestone that built Caernarfon Castle was sourced, and it was where Thomas Telford sourced the raw material for his bridges that defined the first wave of the Industrial Revolution.

How to get there: The island is four miles from Beaumaris. Two operators, Seawake and Seacoast Safaris offer guided boat trips around Puffin Island

Melin Llynon

Formerly Marcus Wareing’s head pastry chef in London, Richard Hold chose to swap shortcrust for canvas sails when he moved back to his home island of Anglesey to oversee the revival of Melin Llynon, the only working windmill in the whole of Wales. Dating back to 1775, this is the sole functioning survivor of what were once over 50 windmills scattered across Anglesey. The emphasis here isn’t on producing expensive bread but on using the flour to make doughnuts and chocolate, both are for sale in the café called ‘Minut’ alongside the windmill’s own gin, worth buying for the wonderfully retro bottle label alone.