On Location: Hay Winter Festival 2014

Regular readers of my irregular blog will know that I went to the Hay Winter Festival last year, and enjoyed it so much that I promised I would go back.  So I did.  As in 2013, the festival included a number of events and seminars as well as a packed food festival on Saturday, and 'Hay Does Vintage' on Sunday.

Last year I took my tiny Romahome R10, and this year I took my new van, the bigger but still compact Hillside Birchover.  Handily sized for parking in the Oxford Road car park where Powys Council allows motorhome parking for 1 night in 7.  Great for attending Hay Festivals!  If you do go in a campervan, the spaces right at the bottom are the flattest.

Hay on Wye is an interesting town of narrow twisty streets and interesting shops.  Not just bookshops!  The Festival takes place in various venues across the town, but the main food and vintage festivals are centred in the Market Place in or near the large marquee.

By lunchtime on Saturday the food festival was extremely busy with very little room to move, but there were still plenty of tasty treats on show to reward those who patiently weaved their way through the crowds.  Wonderful smells from pies and soups stimulated the appetite!

Delicious savoury muffins.

Locally made salsas.

Once stocked up with far too many delicious items, I set off through the town to enjoy some of the pretty local galleries, and explore some of the antique and vintage shops. The result of this was several handmade porcelain stars and hearts, and some camper van sized Christmas bunting.  Before long the van was looking very festive!

Sunday dawned fine and clear, and the food festival stalls of the previous day had been replaced by those of "Hay Does Vintage'.   

Pretty Vintage Items in the Old Electric Shop

The Cutest Booties in the Old Electric Shop!

Hay on Wye is famous as a fantastic place for anyone who loves books, but there's much more to see and do here.  This little town is a gem of a place for small specialist shops too.  There's a particularly nice stationers, and several galleries with items of all sorts and a wide price range.  Highly recommended for a weekend visit.