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A long, narrow, winding road south of Hay-on-Wye leads into the Vale of Ewyas, reaching its prettiest around romantically ruined Llanthony Priory. It's a brilliant access point for the Black Mountains, the massif sculpting the eastern edge of Brecon Beacon National Park. Camping alongside the priory makes a great first base for tackling the summits.
Between the central (and most popular) band of Brecon Beacons National Park and the Black Mountains is this flurry of hills hiding the largest natural lake in Mid or South Wales: Llangorse Lake. The area is great for activities from hiking to kayaking, and camping is readily available at both small-scale sites and larger ones with multiple activities.
Hay-on-Wye has many indoor attractions—its famous bookshops and festivals notwithstanding—which make the tourist season stretch longer than the typical Easter-to-September season most of Mid Wales has. Even if many campsites are closed out-of-season, several glamping sites are open year-round. Late spring, summer, and early autumn get the best weather out in those hills, but this is a notoriously wet part of a wet country—rain can descend at any time.