In via iterum

Wales Trip Day 2: Return to Hay

Before leaving the UK we intend to do a fair amount of sightseeing. This is an account of a week we recently spent travelling in Wales. Its not a live-blog, but I noted a few observations each day so that the posts read a little as if I had had a computer with me. (And its not as if anyone reading this cares where I actually am sitting when I post this!)

We spent most of Day 2 in Hay on Wye. We were able to park without incurring a further ticket and then spent some time casually wandering about the town. The variety of bookshops is impressive. For while there are a few specialist shops (such as the children's book shop, visited yesterday), most of them manage to stock a wide variety of product yet manage to retain a unique character.


We wandered through the streets around Hay Castle, where the Honesty bookshop is to be found - it consists of two sheds filled with books and a collection box for depositing payment. Naturally the books are of patchy quality, and in poor condition (especially on the part of this (or another similar) shop which consists of metal shelves lining the walls of the castle grounds. Despite this we did find an interesting book of Christmas ghost tales to be had for 50p (if memory serves) there.


As mentioned above the bookshops are somewhat eclectic. I was in one of the larger ones looking for a Welsh Folk Tales book (without any luck, though that section did offer gems such as the 'New Feminist Tarot') while my wife let the boy run about outside. I wandered over to the window to watch for a while, and only when done did I notice that I had been standing over the erotic fiction section.

We ate at Kilverts Hotel, which offered fairly basic pub grub. There we made a cardinal mistake: not finding a high chair, so much of the meal was spent blocking escape attempts. Another lesson we learned was that the gunk people stick under tables is fascinating when you are two.


After that and some further wandering - we checked out the antique map shop and Murder and Mayhem (a crime specialty shop), and a linguistic specialist, it was back to the car and Llandrindod Wells, a pool, dinner and packing for the next leg of our journey.

to be continued...

posted by j @ 4:03 PM