Hay on Wye is popularly known as the city of books and it is also the National City of the Book of Wales, also famous for its Annual Festival of Literature, which is held in May and which is usually attended by the most popular writers of the moment; The love for books in this town is also summarized in the high ratio of bookstores per inhabitant that it presents and that makes it a paradise for book lovers… but not only for them.
And it is that Hay on Wye has two norman castles well worth a visit, also the Church of Santa Maria, the ruins of the old Augustinian priory of Llanthony and its many bookstores and antique shops, that in addition to the Brecon Beacons National Park that allows its visitors to enjoy an attractive variety of outdoor activities.
Hay on Wye | Image by Aloys5268 on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 license
Hay on Wye is in Wales, two and a half hours by train from Cardiff and at its gates is the Brecon Beacons National Park With its kilometers of moors, lush green valleys, hidden waterfalls, fern-covered gorges and four spectacular mountain ranges that, no matter how stylish you are taking photos, will make you the king of Instagram for at least a day.
The month of May is ideal to visit Hay on Wye because, in the middle of spring and at the gates of summer, the temperatures are pleasant to enjoy this spectacular natural environment and also because, celebrated at the end of April the anniversary of Shakespeare and Cervantes, the The celebration of books continues in this curious English town with the celebration of the Annual Festival of Literature and with its bookstores dressed up and taking to the streets, bookstores that in some cases are already much more than that because, after the disaster that the pandemic caused for all businesses, they have reinvented themselves and are no longer dedicated only to books of second hand but also other types of antiques and curiosities.
Hay on the Way | Image by Paul Buckingham on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0
If there are places in the world made for lovers of books and literature, Hay on Wye has to be one of them.as it is also a more than tempting place for lovers of ecotourism and hiking.
