Hay-on-Wye
Y Gelli Gandryll
The town of books, on the English border.
Photo: Dominic Nelson / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hay-on-Wye is the original "book town", with more secondhand bookshops than any place its size has a right to, strung along a border-country high street below a Norman castle. Its literary festival each spring draws tens of thousands and, briefly, the world's press.
Staying near Hay-on-Wye
A characterful base at the north-eastern corner of the park, on the edge of the Black Mountains and the Wye. Properties here suit browsers and walkers alike, with the river and the hills both close.
What's here
The bookshops, of course; the "honesty" bookshop in the castle grounds; walks along the Wye and up onto Hay Bluff and the Black Mountains ridge; and canoeing on the river.
When to visit
Any time for the books; late May for the festival, but book a year ahead and expect the whole area to be full. Autumn is quiet and lovely.
See what's available in Hay-on-Wye
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Common questions
Why is Hay-on-Wye famous for books?
From the 1960s Richard Booth turned Hay-on-Wye into the world's first "book town", filling its shops with secondhand and antiquarian books. It still has dozens of bookshops and hosts the Hay Festival, a major literary festival held each spring.
When is the Hay Festival?
The Hay Festival runs for around ten days spanning late May and early June each year. It fills the town and surrounding area completely, so if you want a hot tub break nearby during the festival you should book many months ahead — or come outside it for a quieter stay.