Hay-on-Wye is one of those places in the UK I’ve dreamed of visiting for years. When I visited the southern part of Wales waaaay back in December 2013 during my study abroad, it just didn’t happen due to limited time and bus schedules. On my most recent trip to Wales, I knew I had to make it happen! Hay-on-Wye is just the cutest town and I loved wandering around the bookshops and charming streets. It’s home to the annual Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, which Bill Clinton once described as “the Woodstock of the mind.” There’s lots to explore and experience—here’s what you should do and see in Hay-on-Wye!

EDIT: I took this trip in August 2020, and this post was written and ready to publish before my marriage ended. I have decided not to edit the original post.

Best Bookshops In Hay-on-Wye

The reason most people (myself included) visit Hay-on-Wye? Books. This really is a Town of Books and you can’t visit without stopping into a few bookshops! These are some of the best bookshops in Hay-on-Wye.

Richard Booths

Richard Booth is often credited with transforming Hay-on-Wye into the book town and place it is today. His shop was the first bookshop in Hay-on-Wye back in 1962, and the town has bloomed with bookshops everywhere since then. Richard Booths is spread over three floors, with sections for pretty much every genre. There is also a café and a cinema here, although the cinema was closed when I visited due to the pandemic. Don’t miss the sign on the sidewalk that denotes it as the World’s Largest Secondhand Bookshop! If you only visit one bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, it should be Richard Booths.

Address: 44 Lion Street

Website: https://www.boothbooks.co.uk/

Addymans Books

Another of my top favorite bookshops in Hay-on-Wye is Addymans Books. The décor here is truly outstanding—many rooms even have different themes, and there are some comfy chairs if you can’t wait to start reading. Check out Addymans Book Passage (just next to the main entrance), as there are some older books in there too!

Address: 39 Lion Street

Website: https://www.hay-on-wyebooks.com/ // Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addymanbooks/

Addyman Annexe

While Addymans Books is the main bookshop for the owners, don’t miss the Addyman Annexe a few streets away. There is another great selection of books here—I loved how they used all the space and even have bookshelves in the small kitchen upstairs! Addyman Annexe have a stunning collection of folios as you walk in.

Address: 27 Castle Street

Murder Mayhem

Any guesses what type of books Murder Mayhem specialize in?! If you’re looking for crime, horror, thriller, or detective books, look no further than Murder Mayhem. The owners of Addymans also own Murder Mayhem.

Address: 5 Lion Street

Poetry Bookshop

Another fantastic specialty bookshop in Hay-on-Wye is the Poetry Bookshop. If you enjoy poetry, or are maybe searching for a unique gift for a poetry-lover in your life, this is an excellent place to visit for your poetry needs.

Address: Cranbourne House The Pavement, Lion Street

Website: https://poetrybookshop.co.uk/

Green Ink Booksellers

Green Ink Booksellers may be a bit smaller than some of the other larger bookshops on this list, but it’s still definitely worth visiting. They have a slew of secondhand books, with a focus on philosophy, history, and literature. They’re one of the newer bookshops in town, so make sure to check them out!

Address: Grove House, High Town

Website: http://www.greeninkbooksellers.co.uk/

Clock Tower Books

With all different genres of books, Clock Tower Books is another bookshop to visit in Hay-on-Wye. There are a lot of shelves of fiction, and some nature and outdoor books too. It has a great central location, just across from the market.

Address: Carlton House, The Pavement

Website: Facebook Page

Hay-on-Wye Booksellers

Unfortunately Hay-on-Wye Booksellers was closed when I visited—I’m not sure if they are just closed on Mondays, or have limited hours during the pandemic. Either way, I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to go! Not only is the exterior a beautiful black and white Tudor-style building, but I’ve read that they have so many books they spill out of the shelves and onto the floors!

Address: 13-14 High Town

Website: http://www.hayonwyebooksellers.co.uk/

Castle Honesty Bookshop

One of my favorite places in Hay-on-Wye (and the one that I’ve seen a million Instagram photos of!) is the honesty bookshop at Hay Castle. Two sections with shelves and shelves of books, many of these books were older and had weathered a few storms from what I could tell. There is an honesty box to put your money if you’re taking any books—I believe the money will be donated to use the castle renovation project.

Address: Castle Street

Website: https://haycastletrust.org/visitus/

Broadstreet Book Center

A treasure trove of niche genres, Broadstreet Book Center has many different sections and if you’re looking for something unique, you’ll probably find it here. Travel, cars, railways, music, fiction, history—this is definitely one of the best bookshops in Hay-on-Wye.

Address: 6 Broad Street

Website: Facebook Page

There are a lot of other bookshops in Hay-on-Wye these days—about 20 of them now! If you haven’t gotten your book fix in (and if you still have any money left) after the bookshops above, there are plenty others to check out as well. A few others that I didn’t get the chance to visit properly are Hay-on-Wye Cinema Bookshop, Rose’s Books, Outcast Books, and King of Hay’s Bookshop.

Other Things to Do in Hay-on-Wye

Yes, there are other things to do in Hay-on-Wye that don’t necessarily revolve around books! Here are a few options for the best things to do and see in Hay-on-Wye.

Hay Castle

Unfortunately, Hay Castle is currently closed for restoration work, and I believe it most likely will stay closed throughout the rest of 2020. However, if you’re planning a visit to Hay-on-Wye in the future, I’m sure the castle will be a wonderful place to visit once it reopens! You can find the most up-to-date information on the Hay Castle website.

Antique Shopping

Even if you don’t like books, I think most antique lovers will enjoy a trip to Hay on Wye as well! There are several antique shops to browse through. There’s the Hay Antique Market, Bull Ring Antiques, and Marie-Clares Collectibles (which specializes in vintage clothes).

The Globe at Hay: Institute of Art and Ideas

Unfortunately, their events have been canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the Globe at Hay is a buzzing events center and performance venue and usually has a myriad of different things on throughout the week. If you’re planning a future trip and looking for plays, live music shows, or poetry readings, check out what’s on through their website!

The Warren

Take a delightful riverside path along the River Wye from town and about 15 minutes later, you’ll arrive at the Warren. This is a beautiful meadow, great for enjoying the scenery and is a designated area of Special Scientific Interest (SSI) in Wales. There were a few people fishing here when I went!

Hay Bluff

I wish I had had time to do this hike! You can start the hike at the Hay Bluff car park, or from Hay-on-Wye itself, which adds on about 3 miles. At 677 meters, the views from the top over the Wye Valley are meant to be spectacular!

Daytrips From Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye is right across the English border in Wales, and you can easily make a few daytrips from the town. One of the easiest daytrips would be to Hereford, famous for its stunning cathedral (and it’s also home to the Hereford Cider Museum!). While I definitely think the Brecon Beacons National Park deserve more than just a daytrip (two days minimum!), if you only have the day you could easily visit a few places in the national park from Hay-on-Wye. Pen y Fan was one of my favorite walks and it’s only about a 40-minute drive to the starting point. You could also check out smaller towns like Brecon and Abergavenney.

Where to Eat and Drink in Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye is a small town, and it might be worth booking a table in advance for dinner. I was visiting during the Eat Out to Help Out government scheme, and managed to save quite a bit as most places in Hay-on-Wye were participating. Here are a few options for where to eat and drink in Hay-on-Wye!

Blue Boar

This pub serves up delicious pub grub and a variety of different dishes in a friendly atmosphere. My burger was amazing, but Adam went for cassoulet (one of my favorite foods from my trip to southern France!) and it really stole the show! This is a great place for dinner and I definitely recommend it.

The Three Tuns

I loved how the Three Tuns has transformed their outdoor beer garden! While I don’t know what the interior of the pub is like (it was closed due to coronavirus/distancing restrictions), I enjoyed a really nice drink outside from their small hut serving drinks.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to try out the Shepherd’s Parlor, a cute little café and ice cream parlor. There are some pretty unique ice cream flavors on offer here, and I wish I had made it there before they closed for the day! Tomatitos Tapas looks to be a great option for Spanish tapas as well.

Planning Your Trip

Hay-on-Wye unfortunately doesn’t have a train station, so I recommend having a car to get around. However, you can take a train to Hereford, and from there take Bus X15 or Bus T14 to Hay-on-Wye. I always recommend booking train tickets in advance through Trainline. Cardiff and Bristol airports are the closest to Hay-on-Wye – I book flights through Skyscanner.

I stayed at a fantastic Airbnb (Clifton House) in Hay-on-Wye, which I would absolutely recommend. There was free off-street parking, and the location was fantastic: right in the center of town so we could walk everywhere. Our room was much bigger than expected, the bed was comfortable, and our host (Emma) was really helpful. The only downside is that it’s right across from the clock tower, which does chime throughout the night (this is explicitly mentioned in the listing)—so if you’re  a light sleeper, consider ear plugs! You can sign up to and search accommodation on Airbnb here.

Unfortunately there are no hostels in Hay-on-Wye, but you can search for nearby hostels through Hostelworld. You can search for hotels and B&B accommodation in Hay-on-Wye here! Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

Hay-on-Wye is a booklover’s dream and such a fun place to visit! I can’t recommend this town enough—if you’re visiting south Wales, definitely put this on your bucket list! I hope this post helps in planning a trip to Hay-on-Wye.

Have you been to Hay-on-Wye before? Would you want to go?!

You might like my other posts:

Hiking Snowdon: The Highest Mountain In Wales

Cadair Idris Via The Minffordd Path: Hiking The Highest Mountain In South Snowdonia

The Best Bookshops In York

All of my Wales posts!

Like this post? Pin it for later!