Bring your best ideas to this solutions-focused workshop session. Facilitated by sustainability entrepreneur Andy Middleton and joined by key speakers to be announced, we’ll look at the key issue of food production, discussing the scale of the issue and a range of solutions.
Speakers include remarkable individuals leading climate and biodiversity resilience projects, igniting hope and progress in their neighbourhoods and the wider community. We want you to share your ideas and to be inspired by those making a difference. Be part of the change in this two-hour thought laboratory.
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Mark Cocker, Nick Hayes and Nadia Shaikh talk to Caroline Lucas
Thinker in Residence: Nature Connections
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Global Stage
Our connection to nature is essential both for our own health and the health of the environment. Author and naturalist Mark Cocker and Right to Roam’s Nick Hayes and Nadia Shaikh join Green MP Caroline Lucas to explore the interconnections that underpin the natural world and explore a new moral framework for relating to nature, putting belonging before ownership and co-dependence above competition. Lucas is a Hay Festival 2024 Thinker in Residence, questioning norms, finding new perspectives and challenging us to action.
Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.
Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.
Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, and alert your practitioner at the start of class if you have any injuries.
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Agronomist Jonathon Harrington and vet Barney Sampson lead a tour of Trevithel Court, David and Catherine James’ traditional mixed farm with orchards supplying apples for Bulmers, Westons and other cider producers in Herefordshire and Wales. Walk among the apple trees and learn about cider production; look inside a beehive and learn how bees make honey and store it for the winter, and why they are so essential for pollination. You can sample some of the cider and honey produced on the farm. See the quality beef cattle fed with the grass and arable crops grown on the farm and the machinery used for crop production and harvesting. Trevithel Court is run by David James in partnership with his son Will James, the fourth generation of the family to farm here.
Please wear walking boots or wellies and waterproof clothing in case of inclement weather. These are visits to real working farms and are suitable for anyone interested in learning more about food and farming. Families are welcome but children must be supervised at all times. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on this walk.
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Sponsored by Hay & Brecon Farmers With thanks to David & Catherine James and family for welcoming us to their farm.
Come for a wild swim in the Wye with adventure and wild swimming specialist Angela Jones. The author of Wild Swimming the River Wye is passionate about protecting and respecting the river, its environment and wildlife. She shows how to engage in wild swimming with love and respect, testing the water for cleanliness and observing when it’s safe, before leading a guided wild swim session. Beginners and seasoned swimmers alike will gain a wealth of knowledge, including tips on acclimation, water safety, equipment, technique, reading the river and undercurrents.
You will meet Angela on the banks of the river at By the Wye Glamping Site, HR3 5RS, located just past the main bridge into Hay on the B4351 (What3Words : lifestyle.waving.cavalier).
The session starts at 10am and ends at 12pm at the river.
There is no parking at the swim site, please park in one of the designated carparks around town.
Please bring swimming gear and towel. Water shoes and wetsuits optional. There are no changing facilities by the river, so we recommend donning swimming costumes in advance, worn under loose clothing. Please do not don wetsuits in advance. Bring a thermos or drink and warm clothes for after the swim. Wetsuits can be provided on loan for £5 with prior notice – contact angela@swimwildwye.co.uk.
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Tree Warden Sam Harpur from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park leads a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, with Treescapes Policy Officer Kathy Jenkins. Learn more about Hay-on-Wye’s iconic ancient trees.
Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.
Please wear appropriate footwear and outdoor gear. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on this walk.
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In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park
Ali Capper, Ian Maddock and David Throup talk to Nicola Goodwin
Rising Tides and Falling Harvests
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Meadow Stage
Join our expert panel as they delve into the pressing issues surrounding the surge in flooding incidents driven by climate change and their profound effects on communities, agriculture and our landscapes. From exploring the current challenges faced by farmers to discussing innovative strategies for future preparedness, this discussion aims to help us cultivate resilience.
Ali Capper is a fruit and hops grower in Worcestershire. She is director of the British Hop Association, member of the Hop Industry Committee and chair of British Apples and Pears. Ian Maddock is Professor of River Science, Geography, Environmental Management and Sustainability at the University of Worcester. David Throup was Environment Agency Area Manager in Worcester for 22 years and is an expert on flooding. They talk to Nicola Goodwin from BBC Midlands Investigations...
Leo Murray and Andrew Simms talk to Caroline Lucas
Badvertising
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Wye Stage
Every day we’re sold a dream life through adverts: sun-soaked holidays, beautiful interiors, perfect home-brewed coffees. We consume goods like there’s no tomorrow, and if advertising continues as it is, that might indeed become true. Leo Murray and Andrew Simms, authors of Badvertising: Polluting our Minds and Fuelling Climate Chaos, raise the alarm about an industry that is making us both unhealthy and unhappy, and that is driving the planet to the precipice of environmental collapse in the process. Speaking to Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, they address the psychological impact of being barraged by thousands of adverts a day, how commercialisation of public spaces weakens our sense of belonging and what we can do to change things for the better.
Come for a wild swim in the Wye with adventure and wild swimming specialist Angela Jones. The author of Wild Swimming the River Wye is passionate about protecting and respecting the river, its environment and wildlife. She shows how to engage in wild swimming with love and respect, testing the water for cleanliness and observing when it’s safe, before leading a guided wild swim session. Beginners and seasoned swimmers alike will gain a wealth of knowledge, including tips on acclimation, water safety, equipment, technique, reading the river and undercurrents.
You will meet Angela on the banks of the river at By the Wye Glamping Site, HR3 5RS, located just past the main bridge into Hay on the B4351 (What3Words : lifestyle.waving.cavalier).
The session starts at 2.30pm and ends at 4.30pm at the river.
There is no parking at the swim site, please park in one of the designated carparks around town.
Please bring swimming gear and towel. Water shoes and wetsuits optional. There are no changing facilities by the river, so we recommend donning swimming costumes in advance, worn under loose clothing. Please do not don wetsuits in advance. Bring a thermos or drink and warm clothes for after the swim. Wetsuits can be provided on loan for £5 with prior notice – contact angela@swimwildwye.co.uk.
Helen Czerski and Helen Scales talk to Andy Fryers
Hidden Depths in the Ocean
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Wye Stage
Dive deep with physicist Helen Czerski and marine biologist Helen Scales as they speak to the Festival’s Sustainability Director Andy Fryers about our vast oceans. Czerski’s The Blue Machine illuminates the murky depths of the ocean engine, examining the messengers, passengers and voyagers that live in it, travel over it, and survive because of it. Scales’ What the Wild Sea Can Be is an optimistic view of the future of the ocean, looking at how fish populations and giant kelp and seagrass forests are being regenerated and expanded.
What would a sustainable economy look like? How could we live within our environmental means? Sir Dieter Helm explains what it would take to properly maintain different types of capital, why polluters would have to pay, why the current generation would have to fund the necessary maintenance of our natural assets and why we would have to save to invest. Author of Net Zero and The Carbon Crunch, Helm is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford. From 2012 to 2020 he was Independent Chair of the UK Natural Capital Committee, providing advice to the government on the sustainable use of natural capital. His latest book is Legacy: How to Build the Sustainable Economy and he is in conversation with Mark Lloyd, CEO of The Rivers Trust.
Bring your best ideas to this solutions-focused workshop session. Facilitated by sustainability entrepreneur Andy Middleton and joined by key speakers to be announced, we’ll look at the key issue of transport, discussing the scale of the issue and a range of solutions.
Speakers include remarkable individuals leading climate and biodiversity resilience projects, igniting hope and progress in their neighbourhoods and the wider community. We want you to share your ideas and to be inspired by those making a difference. Be part of the change in this two-hour thought laboratory.
Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.
Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.
Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, and alert your practitioner at the start of class if you have any injuries.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
Featured in the BBC’s Digging for Britain, Snodhill Castle is the hidden gem of the Golden Valley. Explore the Norman ruins including the high keep, Royal Free Chapel and the newly-discovered ‘panic room’, and hear the story of its discovery and preservation. Guided by Tim Hoverd, Archaeological Projects Manager, Herefordshire Council.
Please note: the site is uneven and slippery with steep drops. There is no wheelchair access and no facilities. Children should be supervised at all times. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on these walks.
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Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
In partnership with Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust
Minette Batters, Molly Biddell and Dieter Helm talk to Martin Wright
Rewild or Dig for Victory?
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Wye Stage
Does a wilder landscape come at the expense of food self-sufficiency? Rewilding has become immensely popular, holding out the promise of a restored, wildlife-rich landscape as well as a way to help us meet our Net Zero targets. But with the UK now producing less than two-thirds of our food needs, and only half of our fresh vegetables, can we afford to transform yet more precious acres into a cross between nature reserves and wildlife theme parks? Or are the two in fact compatible: a network of rewilded zones helping to conserve vital pollinators and soil, soak up carbon and safeguard us from floods?
Minette Batters, former president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, the Knepp Estate’s Molly Biddell and economist Dieter Helm talk to the Director of Positive News UK Martin Wright about effective rewilding and a future strategy for food production.
Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye. You’ll be joined by local experts who will give their insights into this treasured landscape.
Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.
Please wear appropriate footwear and outdoor gear. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on this walk.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park
The rewilder and the ecologist discuss the rival demands of reintroducing extinct species and of managing invasive ones. Britain’s favourite maverick rewilder Gow (Bringing Back the Beaver) has played a significant role in the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver, the water vole and the white stork in England. He’s currently working on a reintroduction project for the wildcat, and in Hunt for the Shadow Wolf makes the case for the return of the wolf. Ecologist and environmental writer Warwick is well-known for his role as spokesperson for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. In Cull of the Wild he investigates the ethical and practical challenges of one of the greatest threats to biodiversity: invasive species, which the UN Convention on Biological Diversity ranks as a major threat on a par with habitat loss, climate change and pollution. In conversation with Nicola Cutcher, investigative journalist, documentary maker, and freelance writer.
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Fungi can change our minds, heal our bodies – and help us avoid environmental disaster. They are key players in most of nature’s processes. Biologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of the award-winning Entangled Life, takes us on a mind-altering journey into their spectacular world, and reveals how these extraordinary organisms transform our understanding of our planet and life itself. Sheldrake is a research associate of Vrije University, Amsterdam, and sits on the advisory board of the Fungi Foundation and the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks. Sheldrake talks to Dr Glyn Morgan, Curatorial Lead at the Science Museum.
Want to grow your own food but have no idea where to start? Or perhaps you think you don’t have enough space? Whatever your concern, this panel will help you take the first steps in your journey to become more self-sufficient. Chef Sam Cooper and gardener Huw Richards share practical advice on growing your own, discussing DIY projects, growing skills and ideas for how to make the most of homegrown fruit and vegetables. Peter Wohlleben draws on his experiences of moving with his wife, Miriam, from the city to a remote forest lodge in the early 1990s, where they learnt how to plant and rotate crops and tend to the needs of their animals and environment. Their experiences are recounted in their book Our Little Farm. In conversation with Kitty Corrigan, a free-lance journalist with a special interest in rural and environmental issues.
Planet Assembly 4: Community Health for the Future
A Thought Laboratory
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Creative Hub
Bring your best ideas to this solutions-focused workshop session. Facilitated by sustainability entrepreneur Andy Middleton and joined by key speakers to be announced, we’ll look at the key issue of health, discussing the scale of the issue and a range of solutions.
Speakers include remarkable individuals leading climate and biodiversity resilience projects, igniting hope and progress in their neighbourhoods and the wider community. We want you to share your ideas and to be inspired by those making a difference. Be part of the change in this two-hour thought laboratory.
Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.
Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.
Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, and alert your practitioner at the start of class if you have any injuries.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
Come to Andrew Giles’ farm with local vet Barney Sampson and agronomist Jonathon Harrington to see how his herd of dairy cows produce most of their milk from grass. You can enter the milking parlour and help to milk some of the cows. Learn how the cows are fed and find out how their four stomachs enable them to digest grass. You can taste samples of the dairy products, and a local cheese maker will explain the art and science beneath the rind.
With thanks to Andrew Giles for welcoming us to his farm.
Please wear walking boots or wellies and waterproof clothing in case of inclement weather. These are visits to real working farms and are suitable for anyone interested in learning more about food and farming. Families are welcome but children must be supervised at all times. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on this walk.
Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye. Two of the Park’s ecologists introduce wayfarers to some of the area’s captivating nature.
Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.
Please wear appropriate footwear and outdoor gear. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on this walk.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park
Join Polly Clark of Mountain Yoga Breaks and Lee Craigie of The Adventure Syndicate for a two-hour off-road bike ride in the beautiful Wye Valley. Clark and Craigie have enormous amounts of guiding and coaching experience, and they’re passionate about encouraging more people, especially women, to realise that mountain biking is for them.
To take part in this session you need to be able to ride a bike, but no off-road riding experience is necessary. The event will start and finish at Drover Cycles, Forest Road, Hay-on-Wye HR3 5EH.
Please arrive in good time for a punctual departure. We recommend wearing clothing you can move in easily. Bring a waterproof jacket, water and a snack. Bring your own bike and helmet or hire them from Drover Cycles at a special 25% discount – contact info@drovercycles.co.uk in advance. Limited capacity – please book to avoid disappointment.
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The world of sport has a new opponent: climate change. A world championship marathon was recently held at midnight to avoid the blistering sun. Athletes needed oxygen tanks to play during wildfire season in California. Ski resorts in the Alps have turned into ghost towns. Golf courses are sinking into the sea. But with billions of participants and fans around the world who rely on the sector for entertainment, jobs, fitness and health, this is an industry we can’t afford to lose. Sport ecologist Madeleine Orr argues that there are ways to mitigate the worst elements of climate change. Through interviews with athletes, coaches and politicians in her book Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport, she describes how the sports world can fight back.In conversation with Claire Taylor, a World Cup-winning English cricketer, Chair of Cricket at the MCC and a management consultant.
Join Polly Clark of Mountain Yoga Breaks and Lee Craigie of The Adventure Syndicate for a two-hour off-road bike ride in the beautiful Wye Valley. Clark and Craigie have enormous amounts of guiding and coaching experience, and they’re passionate about encouraging more people, especially women, to realise that mountain biking is for them.
To take part in this session you need to be able to ride a bike, but no off-road riding experience is necessary. The event will start and finish at Drover Cycles, Forest Road, Hay-on-Wye HR3 5EH.
Please arrive in good time for a punctual departure. We recommend wearing clothing you can move in easily. Bring a waterproof jacket, water and a snack. Bring your own bike and helmet or hire them from Drover Cycles at a special 25% discount – contact info@drovercycles.co.uk in advance. Limited capacity – please book to avoid disappointment.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
Come for a wild swim in the Wye with adventure and wild swimming specialist Angela Jones. The author of Wild Swimming the River Wye is passionate about protecting and respecting the river, its environment and wildlife. She shows how to engage in wild swimming with love and respect, testing the water for cleanliness and observing when it’s safe, before leading a guided wild swim session. Beginners and seasoned swimmers alike will gain a wealth of knowledge, including tips on acclimation, water safety, equipment, technique, reading the river and undercurrents.
You will meet Angela on the banks of the river at By the Wye Glamping Site, HR3 5RS, located just past the main bridge into Hay on the B4351 (What3Words : lifestyle.waving.cavalier).
The session starts at 3pm and ends at 5pm at the river.
There is no parking at the swim site, please park in one of the designated car parks around town.
Please bring swimming gear and towel. Water shoes and wetsuits optional. There are no changing facilities by the river, so we recommend donning swimming costumes in advance, worn under loose clothing. Please do not don wetsuits in advance. Bring a thermos or drink and warm clothes for after the swim. Wetsuits can be provided on loan for £5 with prior notice – contact angela@swimwildwye.co.uk.
Plunge into the science of rewilding with biologist and author Ben Martynoga. He celebrates nature and the incredible ways it keeps us alive, and explores how we can welcome the wild on a personal and epic scale. River-nurturing wolves, tree-toppling beavers, climate warrior whales and even genetically-engineered woolly mammoths could all help us protect, revive and restore our planet to its full glory. Come and take an inspiring look at how we can rewild life so that nature – and humankind – flourishes for a long time to come.
12+ years
Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.
After years of unexplained health problems, writer Polly Atkin was finally diagnosed with two chronic conditions in her thirties. She began to piece together what had been happening to her – all the misdiagnoses, the fractures, the dislocations, the bone-crushing exhaustion, the not being believed. She traces a fascinating journey, delving into the history of her two genetic conditions, uncovering how these illnesses were managed (or not) in times gone by and exploring how best to plan for her own future. From medical misogyny and gaslighting to the illusion of ‘the nature cure’, she examines how we deal with bodies that diverge from the norm, and why this urgently needs to change. Atkins talks about her book Some of Us Just Fall with Bethany Handley, an award-winning writer and disability activist from South Wales.
Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.
Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.
Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.
Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, and alert your practitioner at the start of class if you have any injuries.
Featured in the BBC’s Digging for Britain, Snodhill Castle is the hidden gem of the Golden Valley. Explore the Norman ruins including the high keep, Royal Free Chapel and the newly-discovered ‘panic room’, and hear the story of its discovery and preservation. Guided by Bill Klemperer, former Principal Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Historic England.
Please note: the site is uneven and slippery with steep drops. There is no wheelchair access and no facilities. Children should be supervised at all times. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on these walks.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
In partnership with Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust
Wayfaring Walk: National Parks and the Climate Emergency
Liz Hutchins and Tamara Mascarenhas
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Meeting Place on Festival Site
Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, discussing the impact of the climate emergency on national parks.
Hay-on-Wye is based within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.
Please wear appropriate footwear and outdoor gear. We regret we cannot accommodate dogs on this walk.
Sold out
Please log in to add this event to your wish list so we can notify you in case of further availability
In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park
This event will be available online
