Hay Festival

Hay Festival

Packed with bookshops and cafés, and surrounded by relaxing, rolling countryside, Hay-on-Wye is beloved of bibliophiles all year round. Come late May, though, the town becomes a global hub for thinkers, readers and writers, with the world’s literati gathering for its festival of words and ideas. This tiny Brecon Beacons community just inside the Welsh border, with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, hosts authors, politicians, celebrities, publishers and tens of thousands of avid readers. You can get stuck into readings and seminars, parties and karaoke (really) as well as milling around the bookshops and sinking one or two pints in the excellent local pubs. It’s not a fuddy-duddy crowd: Hay has become a hot destination for young urbanites, an evolution reflected in the impressive line-up. Intellectual heavyweights and literary heroes to have played recent roles in Hay include Doris Lessing, Stephen King, Arthur Miller, Zadie Smith, Seamus Heaney, Christopher Hitchens, Stephen Hawking, Germaine Greer, Richard Dawkins, Dave Eggers, Jane Fonda and Bill Clinton, who famously described Hay as ‘the Woodstock of the mind’.

Highlights

Confirmed authors for the 2008 festival include Vikram Seth, Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood and Christopher Hitchens. Book early if you want to see them, though, as the big-name events sell out fast.

In The Know

Head Count

Around 80,000 people visit every year.

Meeting Point

The buzzy little Cafédirect marquee in the middle of the small site is a perfect spot to find friends.

Best View

All the major readings happen inside spacious marquees, so get close to the front if you want to be able to see the ink-stained fingers of your favourite writer. You’ll need to start queuing about 30 minutes before each event if you want to be sure of getting a good seat.

Packing Tips

Bring wellies, sunscreen, and a windbreak. While it used to be a (not so funny) joke that rain was a guaranteed guest at Hay, the past few years have seen beautiful weather. Still, no point taking chances…

Escape

Head into the Black Mountains above Hay, to explore the majestic ruins of Llanthony Priory.

Dos and don'ts

• Join the festival’s opening event, the Kilvert Walk. Kilvert, a Victorian diarist acclaimed by some as the finest since Pepys, was a local who wrote from his rectory at Clyro.
• Don’t try to squeeze too many readings and seminars into one day – chances are your brain will fill up, and you won’t enjoy them all.
• Do hit the catering event when the big events are on. It’ll be queueless and hassle-free.
• If you haven’t come by car, speak to bookshop staff about getting any books you buy posted to you. That way, you can stock up and not worry about breaking your back carrying them home.

Need To Know

Children

Young bibliophiles are amply catered for here. There’s a kids’ programme of events – Hay Fever – with storytelling, and workshops in creative writing, dance and painting, as well as a play area and a children’s library.

Parking

There’s room for 500 cars at the festival site at Llanigon Road, with overflow parking a little further away on Brecon Road. Parking costs £4.50 a day, and you can take a free shuttle bus from the site into the village if you show your parking ticket.

Disability Access

Very good, with full access at all sites, and extras such as infrared hearing assistance. Ring 0870 787 2848 if you have any special requirements.

Food & Drink

The Old Black Lion (01497 820841; www.oldblacklion.co.uk) is the spiritual centre of the festival, and stays open till half one in the morning under the watchful eye of wonderful landlady Dolan Leighton. It serves excellent food and offers accommodation, too, for those who think ahead and book early enough. The Granary (01497 820790) is a wholesome place nearby, serving chunky soups and hearty traditional dishes as well as tea and home-made cakes.

Sleep

Nearby Llangoed Hall is a five-star stately on the banks of the Wye with an excellent dining menu and – we like this – a maze in the garden. It’s the celeb-author choice, so you’ll need to book well ahead (01874 754525; www.llangoedhall.com). The Drawing Room at Builth Wells and, a little further away, the Bell at Skenfrith are Smith-approved options – see details and book online at www.mrandmrssmith.com, or ring 0845 034 0701. If you’re having trouble finding a room (a perennial problem at Hay), try the new Find-A-Bed service launched by the festival. See the website for details, or ring 01497 821526.

VIP

Not applicable at this event, but you can become a ‘friend of Hay’ and get priority booking. See the website for details.