Hay-on-Wye is a small market town located in the heart of Powys, lying on the east bank of the River Wye and within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains. The town itself is positioned just inside the Welsh side of the border.

Hay-on-Wye today is famous for its bookshops, with over thirty specialist bookshops in the town. Since 1988, Hay-on-Wye has been the venue for a literary festival, now sponsored by the Guardian newspaper, and the festival attracts over 80,000 visitors over a ten day period at the beginning of June.

Hay-on-Wye has two Norman castles within a short distance of each other and was fortified by William Fitz Osborne during his penetration of south-east Wales in the summer of 1070 when he defeated three welsh kings.

M. Lloyd Davies RCAHMW, 07 January 2009.