Hay On WyePowys

The Hay Festival, over 25 second-hand and specialist bookshops, the castle, the views across the Black Mountains and an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Britain

Hay-on-Wye's book trade began with Richard Booth opening his first second-hand bookshop in 1962. In 1977 he famously declared Hay an independent kingdom. The Hay Festival began in 1988

Richard Booth's Bookshop first — it's the original and still the best. The Hay Festival in late May is extraordinary. Come on a weekday if you want the town to yourself.