Executive summary by darmansjah
Travelling to Hay Festival
Site address
The Festival site address is Dairy Meadows, Brecon Road, Hay on Wye, HR3 5PJ.
Festival Bus Link Hereford to Hay
Our special festival bus service linking Hay-on-Wye and the festival site with trains and coaches at Hereford's train and bus stations operates for the duration of the Festival.
You can buy your bus ticket from the bus driver at Hereford station on arrival – just ask for a 'Hay Festival bus ticket'. If you're travelling to Hereford by train and buy your ticket from a staffed station, you may be able to purchase the train and bus ticket at the same time.
Festival Bus Link buses are fully DDA compliant, with 'low floor' and space for one wheelchair.
2013 Hereford to Hay Festival bus service timetable
Festival bus tickets:
Adults single £6.50 return £10
Children single £2.60 return £4.70
This bus runs along the A438 between Kings Acre, Wyevale Nursery and Hay-on-Wye, serving the following main recognised stops: Swainshill, Stretton Sugwas Turn; Swainshill, Post Office; Kenchester Turn; Bridge Sollers, Crossroads; Byford, Old School; Portway Hotel; Staunton-on-Wye, Crossroads; Letton, The Swan; Letton, Kinnersley Turn; Willersley, Old Crow Farm; Winforton, Sun Inn; Whitney-on-Wye, Church; Rhydspence Border; Clyro, Square.
The bus will also stop in the villages en route where it is safe to do so (not on a bend or a brow of a hill).
Scheduled Bus Service: Hereford and Brecon to Hay Return
There is also a scheduled bus service from Hereford and Brecon to Hay-on-Wye operating seven days a week. Service 39 operates on weekdays and Saturdays, while Service 39A runs on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
The nearest bus stop to the Festival site is 200 metres away, outside the Fire Station.
Shuttle buses
Regular shuttle bus services run between the Festival site and Hay town centre, and between the Festival site and local villages, as below.
Hay Town – Festival Shuttle Bus
A regular shuttle bus service will be running between the Festival site and the town centre throughout the Festival. Day tickets for the shuttle bus are £1. Pick up and drop off points are at the Clock Tower, Oxford Road Car Park and the Festival site.
The shuttle bus is supported by Richard Booth’s Bookshop and the Hay and District Chamber of Commerce.
Wet Weather
Wet weather car parking will be at Clyro Court only. An extra shuttle bus service will in this case operate between Clyro Court and Oxford Road Car Park. The Hay Town – Festival Shuttle Bus will then take visitors to the Festival site. This is to avoid congestion and to provide the most efficient service. Disabled parking will continue to be available on the Festival site in wet weather. (Please book a disabled parking space at the time of booking tickets.)
The Village Shuttle Bus Service
Avoid the queues and choose the greener way to travel – leave your car at home this year and take the Village Shuttle Bus. We will be running bus services on two routes this year, linking up local villages to the Festival site. The buses will call at stops including Llanigon, Felindre, Glasbury, Llowes and Clyro. Tickets cost £2 per journey. Guide dogs only are permitted on the shuttle bus.
Coach enquiries:
08705 80 80 80
Hereford bus station is served by coaches as follows:
From London Victoria, London Heathrow, Cirencester and Gloucester
From Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham and Worcester
Travelling by train to Hay-on-Wye
Train
Railway enquiries: 08457 48 49 50
The nearest railway station is Hereford, twenty miles away.
Hereford train station is served by regular trains as follows:
First Great Western from London Paddington, Reading (rail/air link from London Heathrow) and Oxford
Arriva Trains Wales from South West Wales, Swansea, Cardiff, Newport, Cwmbran and Abergavenny
Arriva Trains Wales from Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Wilmslow, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Ludlow and Leominster
Arriva Trains Wales from North Wales, Chester, Wrexham and Gobowen (Oswestry)
London Midland Trains from Birmingham New Street, Bromsgrove, Worcester Foregate Street, Great Malvern and Ledbury
There is a regular, direct festival shuttle bus link between Hereford rail and bus stations and Hay-on-Wye / the festival site, which connects with train arrivals and departures (see above for timetable).
Travelling by taxi to Hay-on-Wye
Local taxis
Taxi-share scheme is available from:
A2B Taxis 01874 658 899
Julie’s 07899 846 592
A1 Cabs 07910 931 999
Radnor & Kington Taxis 07831 898 361
Pedicabs
Pedicabs are a sustainable, pedal-powered, zero-emission taxi service, keeping things simple and fun, honest and green. Take a ride in our Festival cycle rickshaws operating between the Festival site and the Swan Hotel. Provided by Hereford Pedicabs – 07718 320 195.
Travelling by taxi to Hay-on-Wye
Car share
Hay Festival partners with both goCarShare and BlaBlaCar.com to help connect drivers with spare seats and those needing help getting to Hay. It’s a great way to meet likeminded people, as well as being a big help in reducing carbon emissions and congestion – and it also saves everyone money.
You can also hire a car locally from LT Baynham Self-Drive Hire, 74 Whitecross Road, Hereford HR4 0DG. tel – 01432 273 298.
Walking
The Festival site is a short five-minute walk along Brecon Road into the centre of Hay. For the more adventurous, there is a wealth of challenging, enjoyable, breathtaking and health-inducing walks to be had around Hay.
Bicycle
Hay-on-Wye is cycle-friendly and you can hire bikes in town at Drover Holidays on Oxford Road. A cycle park is available on the festival site with bike stands kindly provided by Drover Holidays.
Local bike trail information can be found through Mountain Biking Brecon Beacons and Mountain Biking Wales.
Llangoed Hall
Llangoed Hall is a country house hotel, near the village of Llyswen, in Powys, Mid Wales. It is known for its decoration in Laura Ashley fabrics and styles, and was owned by the late Sir Bernard Ashley, the widower of the late designer.
The Hall, originally known as Llangoed Castle, was donated to the church in 560 by Prince Iddon in expiation of his sins, and may have been the legendary White Palace[disambiguation needed], home of the first Welsh parliament. A mansion existed from 1632. It was in the possession of the Macnamara family for two generations until 1847, having been won in a game of cards. In 1912 Clough Williams-Ellis re-designed it as a country house, retaining the surviving Jacobean porch as part of the south wing. Sir Bernard Ashley bought Llangoed Hall in 1987 and opened it as a hotel in 1990.
The house has a number of curiosities, and is rumoured by local folklore to have a ghost named Arginald, a boy who committed suicide in the 1940s. A family cemetery nearby contains the grave of a horse.
Sir Bernard Ashley's intention was to recreate Llangoed Hall as an Edwardian house party, replete with high-society Edwardian customs, period furnishings and antique fittings. There is no reception desk, but liveried staff will greet customers and carry their bags. The Picture Gallery includes works of art by Whistler, Augustus John, Walter Sickert and other Edwardians. Bedrooms are individually designed and decorated with furnishings from Laura Ashley and Sir Bernard's venture company Elanbach, which is based in the hotel's grounds. The dining room offers modern classical cooking, with local produce such as Welsh lamb, Wye salmon and laverbread. It won the Best Restaurant in Wales award in its first year. The hotel also caters for conferences and can be hired for special occasions.
In November 2010 it became part of the Von Essen Hotels group.