Hay-on-Wye
Jul. 6th, 2004 05:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannMore about the trip... sorry these are not in any order!
On Sunday June 27, we drove from Cheltenham to Hay-on-Wye on the English/Welsh border, where we spent two nights. The drive itself was an adventure; we got lost a couple of times on the single-lane back roads, and had our first encounters with sheep on the road. The general route took us through the Forest of Dean, and included a brief stop at the Mohair Centre; unfortunately the ladies who know about mohair were at an agricultural fair.
Hay-on-Wye is known as the town of books; there are over 30 used bookstores there, from places that sell rare first editions and antiques to a few "honesty bookshops" which are outdoor shelves with books no one would probably want; for these, one deposits 30 to 50 pence per book in an "honesty box." Unfortunately, because of the cold and rainy climate, the honesty books get moldy fairly quickly; Ben found himself sneezing a lot around them.
The books were the idea of Richard Booth, a town resident who started with one used bookstore in 1961 and eventually declared himself King of Hay. Quite a character, though he's had a stroke recently and is less visible in town.
We stayed at the Seven Stars Inn, a B&B and restaurant in town. We didn't use the pool, but it looked nice. Apparently people in town can purchase "memberships" to use the pool when guests aren't using it (and since there are only a few guest rooms, this is much of the time). We had dinner there both nights, and it was quite good (especially the fresh strawberries with *unsweetened* fresh cream, yum!). The room was a bit noisy (mostly from the people upstairs) but comfortable, and we could leave the windows open most of the time. They also had hard cider on tap, and by the end of the trip, I was drinking hard cider with dinner and sometimes with lunch every day. British hard cider is mostly dry, and much better than the cr*p available in the US.
Our layover day, Monday, was spent mostly at Brecon Beacons National Park, but I will save that for another post.
On Sunday June 27, we drove from Cheltenham to Hay-on-Wye on the English/Welsh border, where we spent two nights. The drive itself was an adventure; we got lost a couple of times on the single-lane back roads, and had our first encounters with sheep on the road. The general route took us through the Forest of Dean, and included a brief stop at the Mohair Centre; unfortunately the ladies who know about mohair were at an agricultural fair.
Hay-on-Wye is known as the town of books; there are over 30 used bookstores there, from places that sell rare first editions and antiques to a few "honesty bookshops" which are outdoor shelves with books no one would probably want; for these, one deposits 30 to 50 pence per book in an "honesty box." Unfortunately, because of the cold and rainy climate, the honesty books get moldy fairly quickly; Ben found himself sneezing a lot around them.
The books were the idea of Richard Booth, a town resident who started with one used bookstore in 1961 and eventually declared himself King of Hay. Quite a character, though he's had a stroke recently and is less visible in town.
We stayed at the Seven Stars Inn, a B&B and restaurant in town. We didn't use the pool, but it looked nice. Apparently people in town can purchase "memberships" to use the pool when guests aren't using it (and since there are only a few guest rooms, this is much of the time). We had dinner there both nights, and it was quite good (especially the fresh strawberries with *unsweetened* fresh cream, yum!). The room was a bit noisy (mostly from the people upstairs) but comfortable, and we could leave the windows open most of the time. They also had hard cider on tap, and by the end of the trip, I was drinking hard cider with dinner and sometimes with lunch every day. British hard cider is mostly dry, and much better than the cr*p available in the US.
Our layover day, Monday, was spent mostly at Brecon Beacons National Park, but I will save that for another post.
