We took the pilgrimage to Hay-on-Wye last weekend - booklovers heaven. It's a small, picturesque town just north of the black mountains about 1 1/2 hours drive north of Cardiff through quaint Welsh villages mostly with unpronounceable names. They call it the second hand book capital of the world as there are over 30 bookshops in a population of about 1900. They've even turned the castle in the centre of town into a bookshop. Every year they have a major literary festival. We discovered much to our relief that it took place the weekend before we visited. We were relieved as it would have been a nightmare with the kids, not to mention parking. But as it turned out it was relatively quiet - perhaps they were in a state of post-festival recovery.
