Situated in some of the most varied and beautiful countryside the British Isles have to offer, Hay-on-Wye is a small town in Powys, Wales. A bibliophile’s dream, Hay-on-Wye, known as “The Hay” by locals, is world famous for its secondhand and specialty bookshops. The “town of books” presently has over forty major bookshops. Some of the larger bookshops stay open 363 days a year and, during the summer, are open daily until late evening.

The Hay’s booktrade was founded by Mr. Richard Booth in 1961. By the late 1970s, Hay had become the first “book town” and was said to contain over a million books. The town quickly achieved national and international fame due to the novelty of the book town concept and Booth’s flamboyant personality. A few declining towns in the U.S. and Europe have sought the assistance of Richard Booth in hopes of learning how to use his ideas and promotional methods to give their towns a boost in tourism.

Over the past twenty years, Hay is probably best known as being the location of the prestigious Hay Festival which is sponsored by the Guardian newspaper. The annual 10 day literary festival draws over 80,000 bibliophile visitors from all over the world to buy books, attend book launches as well as see and hear many of the big literary names.

For a list of booksellers from Hay-on-Wye’s Tourist Information Bureau, click here.

IMAGE VIA: felinebird on flickr