Today I have travelled about 60 miles west from the Cotswolds to Hay- On- Wye, a small and somewhat ‘quirky’ market town on the border between England and Wales.
Hay is world famous for both its literary festival which takes place each May and the large number of 2nd hand bookshops located around the town centre.
The town lies on the south-east bank of the River Wye and is within the north-easternmost tip of the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains. The town is just on the Welsh side of the border with Herefordshire, England.
Hay is perfect for a weekend break or even longer stay to explore the beautiful natural surroundings and is a great overnight stop for anyone walking the Offa’s Dyke National Trail.
You can spend a leisurely day just wandering around the 20+ second hand bookshops though I thoroughly recommend taking a break every so often in one of the many cafes, pubs and restaurants! My absolute fav place has to be The Blue Boar with to die for burgers!!
Hay boasts 2 Norman castles with the larger structure originally built c.1200 and remnants of it remain to this day.
The King Of Hay!!
One has to mention Richard Booth who lived in Hay and set up his own bookshop in 1961 in what was the Old Fire station. Richard Booth is credited with turning Hay into one of the world’s foremost home for books. His passion for Hay-on-Wye also led him to proclaim it an independent kingdom on 1 April 1977, crowning himself as monarch and issuing passports to locals.
The self-styled "King of Hay" also issued his own speeches - including at Christmas - and awarded peerages. He even appointed his horse as Hay’s first (and only) Prime Minister!!
Hay Festival-
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival, is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind”.
I hope you enjoy by Vlog and it inspires you to pay a visit yourself one day.
Thanks for watching and please do like, share and subscribe. It really is appreciated.
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19 фев 2024
