Hay-on-Wye: Welsh Book Town

Hay-on-Wye is a book lover’s dream. Located in Herefordshire, Wales, this town boasts 20 independent bookstores for its 2,000 residents—or one bookstore per 100 residents.

The first thing that greeted me when I entered the town was its sign: “World’s First Book Town.” The graphic featured a stack of cheerful yellow, blue, green, and orange books stacked on a shelf. The spines showed the possibilities for entertainment in Hay-on-Wye—Antiques, Books, Castles, and River Wye.

Teahouse Time 

Oh, they forgot to mention teahouses, but you’ll have a plethora of options to consume delectable scones and cakes while you read your new book.

If I lived in Wales (or within an hour’s drive), I’d probably visit Hay-on-Wye on a monthly basis. I find nothing more enjoyable than wandering around a used bookstore and exploring the book titles. Eventually, I burrow into a dark corner in a tearoom to read my book. (If you like reading about small towns and villages, check out my blog posts on Fiscardo (Greece), Berkeley Springs (West Virginia), and Clifton (Virginia).

Marketing Ploy

Hay-on-Wye bookstore owner Richard Booth came up with the idea to market Hay-on-Wye as a literary haven.

He opened The Old Fire Station (his first bookstore) in 1962. Over the years, he promoted this old-fashioned Welsh town as a book lover’s destination. The number of second-hand bookstores also grew. By the 1970s, Hay-on-Wye was no longer just the home of Hay Castle, but the home for bibliophiles.

Kingdom of Hay

The United Kingdom has no shortage of wildly ambitious “Richards”—King Richard the Lionheart, Richard III, and Richard Branson. I humbly add Richard Booth to this list.

He adroitly managed Hay-on-Wye’s transformation from a Welsh town in economic decline to a tourist attraction.

He declared himself King of Hay on April 1, 1977. Proudly wearing his homemade crown, he marched past the bookstores, standing like soldiers waiting for inspection. Finally, he stopped outside the town’s medieval castle gates. 

A green-and-white flag blew in the air behind him as Booth raised his royal scepter. He then pronounced Hay-on-Wye’s independence from the United Kingdom and the creation of the “Kingdom of Hay.”

Cheeky and brilliant tourism ploy!

Hay Festival

This Walsh town cemented its reputation as the original book town by creating the Hay Festival in 1987. This 10-day literary festival is an annual event, attracting over 80,000 visitors.

According to the festival’s organizers, “Hay Festival Global is the antidote to polarisation. We bring together diverse voices to listen, talk, debate and create, tackling some of the biggest political, social and environmental challenges of our time.”

Former President Bill Clinton described it as a “Woodstock of the mind.”

The attendees come for a good time, rolling into town with RVs, tents, or a one-day parking reservation.

Getting Around

As I sprinted down the main road, I felt like I was running the bookstore marathon. I ran up alleys, jogged down side streets, and circled back to the town center. The finish line was discovering the 20th bookstore. 

I advise making a map before your arrival. It is easy to fall into a rabbit hole and only visit a few bookstores (especially if you visit a pub). 

Choosing Hay-on-Wye Bookstores

You can choose your bookstore to visit by venue (open-air bookstore vs. indoor bookstore).

You might select your bookstore to visit by genre (poetry vs. detective mystery). Consider visiting the Poetry Bookshop or Mystery and Mayhem bookstore.

Or, as you stare at the window displays in these beige-and-brown stucco bookstores, your whim may guide youide you. 

“I guess there are never enough books.” (John Steinbeck)

I wandered through Book Passage, which is a brick alley stacked with books discounted to shockingly low prices. If I didn’t have to get the books home, I might have gone on a buying frenzy.

Honesty Book Store

Even the Hay Castle succumbed to Richard Booth’s marketing ploy. To raise funds for the castle’s renovation, the National Trust operates an open-air “ Honesty Bookstore.” (It is free to browse. (Note: You must buy a ticket to tour Hay Castle, which is a medieval fortification and 17th-century mansion house.)

Patrons can wander through the stall. Browse selections, choose a title, and deposit a pound coin (per book) in the lockbox to purchase.

Afterwards, you can take your book to read at the Hay Castle’s cafe. Sitting on the second-floor outdoor balcony overlooking the Kingdom of Hay, you can reflect on the words of C. S. Lewis: “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

If you plan to read your new book in one sitting, you might need to order a second pot of tea and an extra scone.

Long live the Kingdom of Hay!

Hay-on-Wye Bookstore Photo Scrapbook

I went wild photographing Hay-and-Wye’s bookstores. They are all so colorful and distinct.

Green Ink Booksellers

Secondhand and New Books

Hay-on-Wye Booksellers

The Addyman Annexe

Fun Fact: The owner worked for Richard Booth!

The Literature Laboratory

Gay on Wye