Hay-on-Wye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hay-on-Wye Y Gelli Gandryll/Y Gelli |
|
|
  |
|
| Population | 1,846 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Principal area | Powys |
| Ceremonial county | Powys |
| Constituent country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HEREFORD |
| Postcode district | HR3 |
| Dial code | 01497 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Brecon & Radnorshire |
| European Parliament | Wales |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Powys | |
Hay-on-Wye (Welsh: Y Gelli Gandryll or Y Gelli), often described as "the town of books", is a small market town in Powys, Wales. It is on the River Wye, which is the natural and administrative border with England, and lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Hay has approximately 1,900 inhabitants. The nearest city is Hereford, some 35 km (22 miles) to the east.
Hay-on-Wye is the UK's mecca for bibliophiles, boasting "thirty major bookshops" (according to its Tourist Information Bureau). Most sell second-hand books.
The bookshops for which the town is now famous are a relatively recent innovation. The name most closely associated with the book trade in Hay-on-Wye is that of Richard George William Pitt Booth, who, on April 1, 1977, sought publicity by declaring Hay an "independent kingdom" with himself as its king. The tongue-in-cheek micronation of Hay-on-Wye and its "king" (who wields an old toilet-plunger in place of a sceptre) is today known chiefly for selling novelty low-cost "peerages" to bemused tourists.
Hay-on-Wye appears to continue over the border into Herefordshire. This part of the town is administratively separate, and is called Cusop.
Hay-on-Wye is twinned with Redu, a village in the Belgian municipality of Libin, and with Timbuktu, the ancient city in Mali.[1]
Contents |
[edit] The Guardian Hay Festival
Main article Hay Festival
Since 1988, Hay-on-Wye has been the venue for a literary festival, sponsored by The Guardian newspaper, which draws a claimed 80,000 visitors over ten days at the beginning of June to see and hear big literary names from all over the world.
[edit] See also
- List of closed railway stations in Britain
- Wigtown - Scotland's book town
- Sedbergh - A book town for England
- Blaenavon - an attempt to create a second "book town" in Wales
- Montolieu - book village in South-West France
[edit] References
- ^ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/6337935.stm - Hay-on-Wye is twinned with Timbuktu , BBC News, 7 February 2007, 15:53 GMT, accessed 8 February 2007.
