The HERDS is a groundbreaking public art and climate initiative designed to inspire action and renew our bond with the natural world. From April to August 2025, life-size puppet animals will sweep through city centers on a 20,000km journey from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, fleeing climate disaster.
Events and performances by world-class artists will respond as the herds move, bringing together the worlds of arts and science in an urgent call for climate action.
#theHERDS
#ArtFund
On 12th July there will be even more books and bibliophiles in Hay than usual as the Hay PBFA Book Fair 2025 takes place in Hay Castle from 10am - 5pm. There will be specialist book dealers from around the UK exhibiting and there will be books for all tastes and budgets on offer.
The dealers will fill the Great Hall of the castle and the mezzanine level above and it is sure to be a truly beautiful sight seeing the castle overflowing with books and ephemera once again.
Entry to the fair is free as is entry to the castle for the whole day of the Fair so it is a perfect day to visit.
Join us for a special summer evening walk exploring Hay-on-Wye’s historic landscape and surrounding countryside, with exclusive insights from Hay Castle’s team.
Immerse yourself in the beauty of a summer evening as we set off on a circular guided walk from Hay Castle, led at a relaxed pace with plenty of time to enjoy the views.
This week, we’re joined by Sara Bowie, Retail & Events Manager at the Castle Trust, who will share updates on upcoming events and projects the Castle is up to.
Our route takes in Hay’s historic surroundings and countryside before returning to the Castle, where Tom True, Executive Director of Hay Castle, will meet us in the Castle grounds. Those who wish can stay on to enjoy their packed suppers in the shadow of the castle whilst perhaps asking Tom any questions about its rich history and exciting future.
This easy-to-moderate walk will last around 2 hours, with assistance provided where needed.
A perfect way to spend a summer evening, connecting with history, landscape, and community.
Kate Bliss, a regular face on BBC antiques programmes and an independent jewellery and fine art valuer is hosting a free ‘drop-in’ Valuation Day for jewellery and silver as well as other antiques and contemporary fine art.
Have you recently inherited items you know nothing about? Do you have jewellery you never wear? Kate offers a unique opportunity to find out more about your valuables including their potential value.
A Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, Kate has over 20 years experience valuing single items to unique collections and whole house contents. Whether it’s the right time to realise some assets or simply de-clutter, Kate will provide you with a verbal consultation and arrange items for sale if suitable.
Drop-in for a free valuation in the Clore Learning Space 10am to 4pm, Thursday 17th July
The Shows
As well as visitor engagement and games, as part of our Knights and Castles event days we provide several 30 minute shows throughout each day. Each show takes the audience through the story of the life of the Knight and are designed to get the audience involved and feel like they are part of the story.
The Games
For many visitors it is the games that we provide that are the highlight. Our games are all Medieval games that transport players back in time. We fill our Games Arena with many different games, that are relevant to the period, that visitors can play at their leisure and return as much as they want.
Do you remember what year Queen recorded ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’? Do you know where they recorded the biggest song in 1970s British rock history? Join Tiffany Murray and Owen Sheers for an evening of ‘Rock Stars at the Castle’, where we’ll talk Tiffany’s memoir, My Family and Other Rock Stars, listen to the music from the book, and have our very own rock n’ roll quiz (with prizes!) A fun evening for all.
“It's the late 1970s and Tiff lives with her mum, Joan, at Rockfield, the iconic recording studios. This place of legend, where some of the most famous rock albums of all time were recorded, is the background to a freewheeling, ever-changing whirlwind of a childhood. Tiff's days are spent running around the farm, making friends with local wildlife and helping out with the endless array of dishes her mum creates to keep the bands fed. She's looking for a dog, she's looking for a father; but the one constant throughout is her and Joan, building an unconventional family in the most unlikely of locations.
My Family and Other Rock Stars is Tiff's remarkable, truly unique story of growing up in a rural idyll, of Cordon Bleu cookery and of a childhood where the chances of bumping into Freddie Mercury playing piano, or a group of Hell's Angels turning up to record for Lemmy, or even the hope of David Bowie appearing, were as normal as hopscotch and homework.”
Tiffany Murray's writing has appeared in Granta, the Guardian, the Telegraph, Sunday Times Style, GQ, Independent on Sunday and featured on BBC Radio 4. Her novels, Diamond Star Halo, Happy Accidents and Sugar Hall, have variously been shortlisted for the Wodehouse Bollinger Prize and received the Roger Deakin Award for nature writing. Tiffany has been a Hay Festival Fiction Fellow, a Fulbright scholar, and a Senior Lecturer, and she currently lives in a forest. My Family and Other Rock Stars is her first memoir. She has adapted it for a TV series.
Join us for a relaxed morning walk that weaves through the stunning landscape surrounding Hay-on-Wye—a town steeped in history and perched right on the border between England and Wales. Starting and finishing at Hay Castle, this gentle-paced guided walk takes in riverside footpaths, parts of the famous Offa’s Dyke trail, and the tranquil Dulas Brook, which marks the national border.
We’ll visit the peaceful Cusop Church, the final resting place of Richard Booth—‘The King of Hay’—whose eccentric legacy lives on in a fascinating exhibition inside the castle. After our walk, we’ll return to the castle for tea or coffee and enjoy an exclusive 30-minute ‘Director’s Tour’ led by Castle Director Tom True.
Whether you’re local and want to rediscover the countryside on your doorstep, or a visitor keen to understand Hay’s unique history and setting, this walk is a perfect way to connect with the land, the past, and others.…
Step out from the gates of Hay Castle and into the ancient landscape that surrounds it. This easy morning ramble takes you on a loop through peaceful meadows, leafy lanes, and historic border paths with views of the Black Mountains. Follow sections of Offa’s Dyke and the Dulas Brook—the natural divide between England and Wales—as we uncover the castle’s wider story in the landscape.
FOLK HORROR STORIES
Ancient folklore meets modern anxiety...Dive into the eerie and unsettling world of Folk Horror. Contemporary authors and film-makers draw on the archiac folk and fairytales of our ancestors to reveal another, more precarious relationship with our environment -in which we are no longer in charge... Expect shapeshifters, foolhardy pacts and unquiet graves. Don't expect happily ever after! 16+
Daniel Morden is a Welsh storyteller in the oral tradition. Morden retells traditional stories from various cultures, in particular the Celtic and the ancient Greek. He has performed all over the world, in schools and theatres, at festivals and on the radio. He is also an award-winning author of such books as DARK TALES FROM THE WOODS. In 2017 he was awarded the Hay Festival Medal for Drama.
'To experience Daniel Morden in full flight is an amazing thing. He combines the skills of the Troubadour, the actor, the bard, the standup comedian and the preacher in the pulpit. One of the UK’s greatest storytellers.'
Ian Macmillan, Radio 3
Open 10am to 5pm,
seven days a week.
Hay Castle
Oxford Road
Hay-on-Wye
HR3 5DG
01497 820079
info@haycastletrust.org