A Short Break to the 2nd Hand Book Capital of the World

Not so much a holiday as a pilgrimage to Hay-on-Wye, a village on the Welsh border that boasts over 20 second hand bookshops and, of course, the annual Hay Festival. The book sellers cater to all tastes, even my somewhat esoteric ones, and it was great to chat with them about obscure authors some of which they'd met and corresponded with. A particular short out to Belle Books on that account; they specialise in vintage sci-fi and detective fiction and I enjoyed a lengthy chat with the proprietor (not Belle - she was the dog). I didn't take my camera to the bookshops as that would have meant less room on my bag for books, but we did manage a couple of non-literary walks in and around the village.

A window on the backstreets of Hay.

A view of Hay from insude the castle; the windows were a bit grimy so got as close as I count to blur out the muck.

The old castle that overlooks the village dates back many centuries.

The castle has enjoyed a chequered history, and was gutted by fire in recent years. The tour of the castle is run by volunteers and helps fund the restoration work. I managed to blot my copybook by taking pictures when I should have been listening to the guide.

Bob and Annabelle were our hosts at the very welcoming La Fosse B&B. Bob talked of a hill-side cottage he longed to purchase, which we took to be the one in the image above.

Harvest festival in Cusop Church.

I love a good graveyard, and the trees in this one were Tolkeinesque.

The farms dominate the countryside around Hay.

Not the best weather for atmospheric landscapes, but I could easily imagine living in the area and tromping over the hills as they are gradually illuminated by the rising sun.

They really know how to do cemetaries in this neck of the woods.

The path is wide enough for cars to drive up - which they did.

The Scottish lady in the image above disappeared from view for a while, before reappearing and telling me she didn't want to spoil the photo. On the contrary, she rather made it.

And then we stubled upon the icing on the funereal cake....

And finally the best thing about the area? The pace of life.