Hay-on-Wye: The UK’s Bookselling Capital

Hay-on-Wye lies at the midpoint of two Norman castles built during early English conquests of south Wales in the twelfth century; an older castle once located near the current site of St. Mary’s Church and Hay Castle, constructed around 1200 by William de Braose II which saw combat in several history-making battles, including the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, last Prince of Wales, and the Wars of the Roses. The town, situated squarely in luscious countryside that straddles natural landmarks the River Wye and the Black Mountains, emerged as a somnolent market town around these sites and became an important stopover town for nearby Brecon, the county town home to the Brecon Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon, and the Brecon Castle. Hay-on-Wye only began to develop its own identity during the 1960s when Richard Booth opened a bookstore in the town’s old firestation and developed a sort of bibliophile cult in the town which, by the 1970s, had garnered an international reputation for this emergent literary culture. Booth in particular garnered a reputation as the kingpin of this operation, and on 1 April 1977 declared Hay-on-Wye an “independent kingdom” with himself as monarch, a publicity stunt that brought the town to further national attention. And, in 1988, the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts was held for the first time, swelling ever since to one of the UK’s foremost literary festivals.

The Hay Festival is held for ten days every year between May and June and is one of the most important literary events in the year, bringing over 100,000 visitors to the area every year seeking to engage with the planet’s leading writers, poets, and thinkers. The festival features a diverse programme of events, each years’ more exciting than the list, which typically includes talks, panel discussions, debates, workshops, and comedic and musical performance that span a vibrant spectrum of disciplines and genres. Past guests include the likes of Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Stephen Fry, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Yubal Harari, and Malala.

Since 2010, Hay-on-Wye has also been home of HowTheLightGetsIn, an annual philosophy festival that brings together leading contemporary philosophers and public thinkers to discuss issues ranging from ethics and politics to metaphysics and epistemology. The innovative festival is the largest of its kind in the world and balances this lofty intellectualism with a lighthearted lineup of musical and comedic acts and fairground fun with a vibrant family feel; past speakers include contemporary Marxist icon Noam Chomsky, Slovenian heavyweight Slavoj Žižek, pioneering gender theorist Judith Butler, and famed musician Brian Eno. Past musical guests include experimental composer Anna Meredith, BRIT Award-winning indie act Belle and Sebastian, and folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling.

Hay-on-Wye has an international reputation as the “Town of Books”, so it would be a shame not to explore the numerous unique bookstores it has to offer. Richard Booth’s Bookshop is the one that started it all back in the 1960s and, as well being the largest second-hand bookstore in Europe, contains an independent cinema and art café. Addyman Books, meanwhile, boasts over 100,000 titles spread across four floors and is an absolute haven for bibliophiles, while specialty bookshops such as Murder and Mayhem, which deals exclusively in crime and mystery fiction, and the Poetry Bookshop, the only second-hand bookshop in the UK devoted to poetry, are also dotted around the town.

This independent literary culture is accompanied by a vibrant array of fascinating independent stores equally worth passing through. Bain and Murrin’s is an emporium of secondhand clothing, Mostly Maps specialises in antique maps, and Haystacks Music is the township’s vinyl mecca. Independent cafes such as the Old Electric Shop and the Globe at Hay are also unmissable and are just two of the litany of cafes that make up the town’s world-class coffee culture, a fitting accessory to the town’s bookselling fanaticism.

After having thoroughly explored the town, explore the great outdoors that surrounds it. The Wye Valley Walk is a 136-mile trail that traces the River Wye (take on as much or as little of the epic trail as you want!) while the Rail Trail Circular follows an abandoned railway loop for just over three kilometres out of the town centre and along edenic countryside pathway. If you’re feeling more adventurous, Offa’s Dyke Path is a famous walk from Hay to the Black Mountains that bisect the England-Wales border, ending on Hay Bluff, with panoramic views of the surrounding mountain range. Or, take to the water and paddle the 215-kilometre Wye River; Wye Valley Canoes in Glasbury rent canoes or kayaks for a day or half day, with the river journey from Glasbury back to Hay being a babbling two to three hours downstream easily tackled by even the most amateur of canoers.