Hay-on-Wye – UK

Sometimes, we all need a little escapism from the minutiae of the day-to-day, and for me there are presciently two ways that I like to do just that: an adventure somewhere new or disappearing into something all engrossing, such as a book. On this occasion I decided to combine both with a little trip to somewhere I’d never been before, Hay-on-Wye, dubbed the “town of books”.

Pick up a page turner: there are bookshelves a plenty where you can donate ones you’ve read and pick up new books you haven’t.

Hay Castle.

There is something so deliciously indulgent about perusing a well stocked book store and Hay-on-Wye has many. I’ll admit, I’m someone who has fallen to the convenience of audiobooks, usually doubling up the task of listening to a book with some other mundane task in a bid to optimise time. In this all-go day and age, the act of sitting down and reading a book and really giving it your undivided attention feels like such a luxury. For me, there is just nothing like reading a physical book. I love the feeling of turning the pages and folding down a corner to mark where I’m up to; highlighting the especially juicy bits that I wish to revisit at a later; that oh so satisfying feeling when you finally close the book having read its last page; and best of all, getting to pass the book on to a loved one or friend to enjoy, perhaps writing a thoughtful note within. 

There’s something nostalgic about happening across old books that you’ve previously read long ago, bringing back memories of the time of your life when you read them. Coming up for Air by George Orwell is one such book for me: it’s one of my all time favourites — it’s a book that resonates on some levels. Sometimes when I visit my rural village in Cornwall (where I grew up) it brings into sharp focus how much life moves on and makes me miss that idyllic sense of childhood incense that this book captures so well.

There is a lineup of independent bookstores curated with the weird and wonderful along with the new and old, so much better than the predictable lineup of books you’ll find in Waterstones if you ask me. If you are partial to a good page turner, you’re guaranteed to be like a kid in a candy store. We literally spent hours browsing the floor-to-ceiling shelves of books, flicking through anything that caught our eye. 

Had to pick this up. Francis Bacon, an artist darkly fascinating on many levels.

We also happened across the loveliest tea room called Leaf, serving a wonderful array of worldly infusions. I opted for white tea variations, including silver tips and bai mu dan. The lovely lady at Leaf (who was clearly a tea enthusiast) talked us through the origin of the teas and how to correctly prepare each one.

In addition to the exciting array of independent bookstores, there’s also plenty of fascinating trinket shops and independent sellers in Hay-on-Wye.

I left Hay-on-Wye several books up and brimming with inspiration. I feel like creativity requires fuel in the form of inspiration: new places, adventures, people and books (all of which can be a goldmine for sparking new ideas). What’s more, I hear Hay Festival — which brings together readers and writers — is well worth checking out. Following our visit to Hay-on-Wye, my curiosity is well and truly piqued, so that may well be on the agenda for this year too!