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Hay Castle
HeritageEasy1 to 2 hours

Hay Castle

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About

The castle on the rise behind the Clock Tower is two buildings in one: a Norman keep the Trust dates to the late 12th century, and a Jacobean mansion built onto it around 1640, with Dutch gables and tall brick chimneys over the town. Richard Booth bought it in the 1960s, used it as the hub of his book trade and declared himself King of Hay here in 1977; fires in 1939 and 1977 left much of it a shell. The Hay Castle Trust, formed in 2011, won a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant in 2016, started building work in July 2018 and opened the castle to the public on 26 May 2022, the first day of that year's Hay Festival. Inside are exhibitions, the cellar with an early arched gateway uncovered by the restoration, and a 13th-century trebuchet ball found in 2017 that the staff have named Colin. The Great Hall, shop and cafe are free; and the Trust also keeps what it calls the world's first honesty bookshop, where you leave the money for what you take.

Photos

Highlights

  • ✓Opened to the public on 26 May 2022 after a restoration started in July 2018
  • ✓A Norman keep with a Jacobean mansion of about 1640 built onto it
  • ✓Where Richard Booth declared himself King of Hay in 1977
  • ✓Free Great Hall, shop and cafe
  • ✓Guided tours at 11am and 2pm, volunteers permitting

Tips

  • →Open 10am to 4pm every day, per the Trust's visit page and home page; its location page still says 5pm, so assume 4pm.
  • →Your adult ticket lasts a year, and under-18s go free.
  • →In 2025 the Trust closed nearly all of the castle for the Hay Festival Winter Weekend; it has not yet posted a notice for 26 to 29 November 2026, so check before you go that weekend.
  • →Dogs on a lead are welcome on the ground floor, in the cafe and in the grounds.
  • →Park in the Oxford Road car park opposite; there is no parking at the castle.

Best Season

SpringSummerAutumnWinter

Accessibility

Partial wheelchair accessAccessible toiletBlue badge parking

A lift serves every floor except the cellar; the cellar film is also on iPads in the Reading Room. Accessible toilets on the ground floor near the cafe and on the first floor. No parking at the castle: disabled bays at the top of the Oxford Road car park, level access over the zebra crossing and a ramp at the top of the drive. Tours include steps down to the cellar. Sensory bags can be borrowed from the front desk.

Last verified 2026-10-16