Hay-on-Wye Festival
The dates for next year’s Hay Festival are Thursday 27 May to Sunday 6
June 2010. Put them in your diary...The full programme is available in
April, check back for further information.
...and for the super-organised, Hay Festival 2011 will run from Thursday 26
May to Sunday 4 June.
Every year, around 80,000 visitors flock to Hay-on-Wye for the town's annual literary festival. The 2009 Hay Festival took place from 21 May to 31 May. {Those requiring accommodation are advised to book early}
Those that appeared in the 2009 festival included :
Alan Bennett, David Simon, Tony Curtis, Robert Preton, Eric Hobsbawm, Stephen Fry, Gillian Clarke, Andrew Davies, Dennis Nordern, Dannie Abse, Clive James, Jaqueline Wilson, Graham Swift, Jeremy Paxman, Sting, Edna O'Brien, Patrick Hannan and Zoe Heller.
Around Hay-on-Wye
It could be said that there are more books than people in Hay-on-Wye! The town is a ‘mecca’ for second hand books and bibliophiles, which is why it appeals to so many authors, writers and historians.You will find over 30 bookshops in Hay covering just about any subject that you can think of, will you find that elusive book that you cannot find anywhere else ?
Hay-on-Wye, dominated by it's castle, lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains. Hay is a destination for bibliophiles, with over thirty bookshops, many selling specialist and second-hand books and is famous for the Hay Festival.
The town is situated just within the Welsh side of the border with Herefordshire, England, which is defined by the Dulas Brook at this stretch. Where the brook joins the River Wye just to the north of the town, the border continues north along the river. Hay has approximately 1,900 residents. The village of Cusop lies on the other side of the Dulas Brook and is in England.
In the 1960s, the first second hand book shop opened in Hay-on-Wye , and now the town has 30 bookshops selling mainly second hand books, with over a million books on different subjects on sale. An extension to this bookish activity is the Hay Festival of Literature, an annual event every May, where authors, writers, poets gather to talk and hear about literature. In recent years the festival has branched out to include music and entertainment as well as literature, although they always try to have some big name speakers from the world of literature.
With its location on the road to Brecon - once the most important town for miles around - Hay has a long history of providing food and lodging to travellers with coaching inns and pubs.
How to find Hay on Wye
From Hereford via A438 (Brecon). Avoid Toll Bridge. At Clyro turn left from A438 signposted following signs to Hay-on-Wye. On approaching Hay over the river bridge (2miles) turn right at the T junction. Follow the road (B4350) through the town. After passing the Swan Hotel (on the right) the road curves right. The Masonic Hall is some 200 yards further on, set back on the right. There is a car park almost opposite.