2-Bedroom Lodge with Hot Tub in Talgarth

Hay Castle is a medieval fortification with a 17th-century mansion alongside, right in the centre of the book town of Hay-on-Wye. Founded by the Normans and rebuilt in stone around 1200, it has been attacked and burnt several times over the centuries.

Tip: Use the large public car park off Oxford Road, which has free electric vehicle charging points. Dogs must stay on a lead, and are welcome on the ground floor, in the café and in the grounds.

Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums, standing on the heather-clad moors above Blaenavon. It worked as a colliery from 1880 to 1980 and opened to the public in 1983. The star attraction is the Underground Tour, which takes you 300 feet down with a real miner to see what life was like for the men who worked the coal face.

Tip: Underground tour places on the day aren't guaranteed a time slot and queues can build when busy, so book a timed Job-A-Knock ticket in advance to secure your spot.

Raglan Castle sits just north of the village of Raglan in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Built and rebuilt between the 15th and early 17th centuries by the Herbert and Somerset families, it was once a luxurious, fortified home, and its large hexagonal keep is known as the Great Tower or the Yellow Tower of Gwent.

Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary sits between Caehopkin and Abercraf in Powys. It began as a hill farm and grew into a final home for unwanted primates, including chimpanzees, baboons, spider monkeys, capuchins and marmosets. Its first chimpanzees arrived in 1999, when seven were taken in from Penscynor Wildlife Park after it closed.

Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined Augustinian priory in the secluded, steep-sided Vale of Ewyas, in the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Founded around 1100, it became the first priory of Canons Regular in Wales and grew into one of the great medieval buildings of the country, mixing Norman and Gothic styles. The main ruins are cared for by Cadw.

Tip: The priory is about seven miles north of Abergavenny on the old road towards Hay-on-Wye, so allow time for the winding valley drive.

Goodrich Castle is a ruined medieval fortress on a rocky sandstone outcrop above the River Wye, near Ross-on-Wye. Begun after the Norman Conquest, it grew into a stone castle with a square keep, big corner towers and a gatehouse with a barbican. William Wordsworth called it the "noblest ruin in Herefordshire".

Tip: Book advance tickets online through English Heritage, and pick up the family game from the ticket office when you arrive.

Zip World Tower is an adventure park on the site of Tower Colliery near Aberdare, which was the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the UK until it closed in 2008. The preserved mining structures surround the rides, so you get a good look at the history as you go.

Tip: Book in advance, and arrive 30 minutes before your start time. Wear warm clothes with boots or trainers, and no sandals or open-toe shoes.

Croft Castle is a castellated 17th-century manor house that has been the home of the Croft family for many centuries. Inside, you can look round the castle rooms, while outside there are colourful herbaceous borders, a secret garden and a walled garden with a small working vineyard, historic apple trees and a glasshouse.

Tip: Dogs on leads are welcome in the garden and parkland but not in the house. Satnav users should enter HR6 0BL, as the National Trust recommends.