Hay-on-Wye, The Town of Books
Just inside the Welsh border at the tip of the Brecon Beacons National Park is the town of Hay-on-Wye, or just plain Hay, a second-hand book-lover’s dream. With somewhere around 20 bookstores within its tiny, very walkable circumference, you can happily spend two or three days browsing the endless shelves for treasures. There are bookshops filled with poetry, children’s literature, or solely stocking mysteries.
This small Welsh town became transformed into the first “book town” when Richard Booth began buying up the libraries of estates and colleges. He collected millions of volumes and housed them in the small buildings of Hay. Other booksellers of second-hand and antiquarian books came, too, and since that time in the 1960s several other book towns have formed in small rural areas. Money and imagination can accomplish a lot. Richard Booth was eccentric, but as this obituary says, it was in the best kind of way.
Hay-on-Wye is a charming place to walk around. The buildings are old and beautiful, and there’s even a castle, though it is being refurbished at the moment. In addition to books, there’s a large antique store and a good Oxfam. With the national park nearby there are lots of trails for walking in the countryside. If you love old books and finding unexpected treasures, a visit to Hay-on-Wye is for you.