Hay Castle Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford

We went to Hay-on-Wye for my birthday last April which was a lovely surprise. It is one of my favourite places in Wales! When I moved to Wales and stayed near Brecon for 8 weeks I went to Hay once a week.

Last time I bought about ten books at the Hay Castle Book Shop alone, mainly novels and guides. I love the Castle Bookshop. You can find good Welsh novels here and books on art, travel and healthy living. Some real bargains.

The staff was really friendly!

It is a great place to find some cards and gifts, too.

It’s a bookshop, in a castle! In a castle! What’s not to love? This is a perfect happy little place with friendly staff and well… books. Lots of books. Old dusty books and exciting things and everything you could possibly ask for from a book shop in Hay.

Except as it’s on a great big hill (like all the best castles) you get a stunning view across the Welsh countryside. Lucky they put a little bench outside the bookshop for added reading pleasure. The guy who was working here was pretty cute too.

(Yes, if you look at that really long line of steps leading up to the caste it looks really far, but if you carry on walking through the village to the tourist information centre, you’ll see a little pathway that leads to the side of the castle. Perfect for lazy feet (and London girlies carrying suitcases!)