Hay-On-Wye, Wales: A Book Lover's Dream by Various Travel Authors on Creators.com

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Hay-On-Wye, Wales: A Book Lover's Dream

HAY-ON-WYE, Wales — As a bibliophile, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

For surely this charming market town amid emerald fields with grazing sheep — smack in "How Green Was My Valley" scenery (from the famous book and film) — is a book lover's dream. Nearly everywhere you turn, every narrow, ancient cobblestone street, nook and cranny, is a used bookstore. The former fire station, the old cinema — even the castle! Some three-dozen of them in this town of 1,500, which claims about 500,000 annual visitors, house more than 1 million books on every topic imaginable, priced from about 50 cents to more than than $1,460.

Where to go first? Each shop, from The Sensible Bookshop to Murder and Mayhem, was begging me to enter.

I prayed that the intermittent, drizzle would hold off as I darted in and out of various shops filled with books everywhere — on shelves so high you needed a stool or ladder to reach the top; books piled on chairs, stacked on the floor. Never mind the dust! Or the requisite literary cat sleeping atop a counter or in a front window!

Known, not surprisingly, as "The Town of Books," Hay-on-Wye in the county of Powys, borders England, and is about 175 miles from London. Because there's no longer train service to the town, it takes a bit of planning to get to, unless you have a rental car.

Set near the River Wye in the foothills of the Black Mountains — near the Golden Valley, touching Brecon Beacons National Park, and boasting vivid green hills — it's the ideal place for outdoor lovers. It's perfect for those who want to take a stroll, go cycling, hiking, hang-gliding or canoeing — or those who simply want to take a fresh-air break from reading.

"The Hay," as longtime locals fondly dub it, wasn't always known for its books. The earliest known reference to the town was an A.D. 944 survey. But it wasn't until the 12th century Norman invasion that it was given the Norman equivalent name of La Haie, meaning "a fenced or hedged enclosure," then became Hay-on-Wye in 1947. Due to its location, Hay was the site of many battles.

Its castle was founded in the early 13th century and then destroyed by King John of England in 1216. Legend has it that it was rebuilt in one night by the enormously strong wife of William de Breos, Maud de St. Valery, who carried the heavy stones in her apron. In later generations, it was destroyed by fires or uprisings — and rebuilt numerous times — as various tenants came and went. Most recently it's the site of one of the town's largest bookshops, Hay Castle Books.

I was amused to see that outside on the castle lawn, books stacked on numerous shelves are sold on the honor system: "Honesty Bookshop: Paperbacks 30p, Hardbacks 50p. Please put money into box," politely proclaimed a sign. On this cool gray day, there was only one other woman shopper browsing them.

Hay Castle Books is owned by Richard Booth, a colorful Oxford grad and self-proclaimed "King of Hay," who got the idea back in 1961 to convert the town's old fire station into a used bookstore, gradually opening other bookshops around town. His vision was to create the largest secondhand book center in the world. And he pretty much did just that.

Gradually more enterprising bibliophiles with dreams of owning secondhand bookshops came to Hay, converting the old buildings into a haven for bookworm. Through advertising and publicity gimmicks, the popularity spread, and people now come from around the world on a literary pilgrimage to visit tiny Hay-on-Wye.

"The Americans really like it," commented Jane Jordan, co-owner of Hay-on-Wye Booksellers with her husband, Michael Bullock, who opened it in 1968.

"But we haven't had as many Americans recently because of the economy." As with other Hay booksellers, the couple travels outside the county to purchase books, and sell "lots" via the Internet, shipping them worldwide.

"But there's nothing like actually browsing in a bookshop, holding a book in your hand," Bullock acknowledged with a smile, reaching for one on a shelf as customers mingled and squeezed about the crowded store.

And Hay-on-Wye became even more famous in 1988, when the Guardian Hay Festival of Literature was founded by Norman and Peter Florence. An event which really put Hay-on-Wye on the map, it has been referred to by The New York Times as "the most prestigious literary festival in Britain and one of the most interesting anywhere" and "a literary Sundance festival." Today, up to 80,000 swell the tiny town for 10 days each spring to attend the festival, where they can be entertained and educated by book authors, politicians, philosophers, poets, and musicians.

"It is very difficult to find accommodation over this period as it gets booked up by the same people from year to year," points out lifelong resident Zena Davies of the Hay-on-Wye Tourist Information Bureau. "Realistically, you have to book anything up to a 50-mile radius, unless you hit lucky with a cancellation."

Previous celebrity authors and speakers have included Former President Bill Clinton, who referred to the festival as "The Woodstock of the Mind"; Paul McCartney, who read poetry; J.K. Rowling; Salman Rushdie; Tony Blair; John Major; former President Jimmy Carter; former Vice President Al Gore; Doris Lessing; Bill Bryson; and the late John Updike.

"They come to talk about their life or what they've just written," explained Cardiff-based Blue Badge guide Bill O'Keefe about Hay-on-Wye, one of his favorite spots to visit. "On Saturdays during the summer, you sometimes have to queue to get into a shop. Some people will spend seven hours book shopping, stopping just for a quick pub lunch. It's actually a dangerous place, and can take four to five days to tour them all; you can lose yourself in a shop."

With a sigh, he laments that he never can visit the town without taking a handful of books home, much to his wife's distress over where to put them.

IF YOU GO

Hay-on-Wye Tourist Information Bureau

For more information on Hay-on-Wye's bookshops, activities, accommodation, restaurants, and directions, please visit: www.hay-on-wye.co.uk, or email: post@hay-on-wye.co.uk

The Guardian Hay Festival: May 21-31, 2009. For a list of this year's participants and for more information, please visit: www.hayfestival.com

The nearest train station is in Hereford, 21 miles from Hay-on-Wye.

For more information: www.nationalrail.co.uk. and www.britrail.com

For information on bus service from Hereford to Hay-on-Wye (which takes about 50 minutes): www.traveline.info

For additional information, please visit: www.travelwales.org

Sharon Whitley Larsen is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.