Getting to Hay
Hay-on-Wye is situated just off the A438 between Brecon and Hereford. The Festival is well signposted. The nearest railway station is Hereford, 21 miles away, and Hereford bus station is served by National Express coaches.
Railway enquiries | nationalrail.co.uk | 08457 48 49 50
Coach information | nationalexpress.com | 0871 781 8181
Public transport information | traveline.info | 08712 00 22 33
The Wales Way is a new family of three national routes that lead you into the heart of real Wales.
HAY FESTIVAL BUS
Running between Worcester, Hereford and Hay, the special Festival bus service links with trains and coaches at Hereford’s train and bus stations, and also Worcester Crowngate Bus Station. This service runs for the duration of the Festival.
Tickets for all journeys can be bought on the bus. We’re sorry that we’re unable to accept concessionary passes on this service.
TICKETS: HEREFORD TO HAY
Adults £10 single, £14 day return, £16 period return
Children (5–15 years) £6 single, £8 day return, £10 period return
Family of up to four people (max. two adults) £34 return
The bus will stop at the following stops each way on this route.
Hereford Railway Station - Country Bus Station (Stand 6) - Maylord Shopping Centre (Stand 2) - Victoria Court - Whitecross Memorial - Kings Acre - Stretton Sugwas Turn - Post Office, Swainshill - Kenchester Turn - Bridge Sollers, Crossroads - Byford, Old School - Portway, Hotel - Staunton-On-Wye - Letton, The Swan - Kinnersley Turn - Willersley, Turn - Winforton, Sun Inn - Whitney-on-Wye, Church - Rhydspence, Borde - rClyro, Square - Hay-on-Wye, Hay Castle
Hereford to Hay Bus Timetable 2023
TICKETS: WORCESTER TO HAY (VIA HEREFORD)
Adults £13 single, £20 return
Children (5–15 years) £8 single, £10 return
Family of up to four people (max. two adults) £38 return
Worcester to Hay Bus Timetable 2023
SCHEDULED BUS SERVICES
There is also a scheduled bus service (Service T14) from Hereford and Brecon to Hay-on-Wye
operating six days a week, Mondays to Saturdays. The 39A Yeomans bus service runs on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays.
VILLAGE SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
We’re sorry that we’re unable to run the Village Shuttle Bus in 2023 due to significant financial losses incurred on this route. We encourage alternative travel including car share, taxis or bike hire – please see further information below.
FESTIVAL SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE
A regular shuttle bus operates between the Festival site and the town centre. Pick up and drop off points are at the Festival site entrance and the bus stop at Oxford Road car park in town. Check the display to find out which direction the bus is going in.
The service runs throughout the Festival from Thursday 25 May to Sunday 4 June, from before the first event until after the last event each day. The normal journey time is under ten minutes, although please note that during busy periods the journey may take longer. Day tickets for the shuttle bus are £5 per person, with no limit on the number of journeys.
Supported by Richard Booth’s Bookshop
CAR SHARE SCHEME
We recommend using Hay Festival partners goCarShare, BlaBlaCar.com and Liftshare to connect drivers with spare seats and those needing help getting to Hay. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people, as well as being a big help in reducing carbon emissions and congestion – and it also saves everyone money.
For parking information, click here.
TRAIN
Railway enquiries: 08457 48 49 50
www.nationalrail.co.uk
The nearest railway station is Hereford, twenty miles away.
Hereford train station is served by regular trains as follows:
- Great Western Railway (GWR) from London Paddington, Reading (rail/air link from London Heathrow) and Oxford
- Transport for Wales (TfW) from South West Wales, Swansea, Cardiff, Newport, Cwmbran and Abergavenny
- Transport for Wales (TfW) from Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Wilmslow, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Ludlow and Leominster
- Transport for Wales (TfW) from North Wales, Chester, Wrexham and Gobowen (Oswestry)
- West Midlands Trains from Birmingham New Street, Bromsgrove, Worcester Foregate Street, Great Malvern and Ledbury
There is a regular, direct festival shuttle bus link between Hereford rail and bus stations and Hay-on-Wye / the festival site, which connects with train arrivals and departures (see above for timetable).
WALKING
The Festival site is a short five-minute walk along Brecon Road into the centre of Hay. For the more adventurous, there is a wealth of challenging, enjoyable, breathtaking and health-inducing walks to be had around Hay.
Walking routes
Download a PDF of the Ramblers Cymru linear walking route through Hay
Download a PDF of the Ramblers Cymru circular walking route around Hay
Slow Ways - If you are feeling more ambitious and conscious of your travel footprint, why not consider walking all the way to Hay? Slow Ways is an initiative to create a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages. Using existing paths, ways, trails and roads, people can use Slow Ways routes to walk or wheel between neighbouring settlements, and combine them to create longer distance trips. It’s designed to make it easier for people to imagine, plan and go on walking journeys. Find out more here - Slow Ways
BICYCLE
Hay-on-Wye is cycle-friendly and you can hire bikes in town at Drover Cycles on Forest Road, where you will also find Drover's fully stocked bike shop and workshop open 7 days a week for repairs and servicing.
A cycle park is available on the Festival site with bike stands kindly provided by Drover Cycles.
Local bike trail information can be found through Mountain Biking Brecon Beacons and Mountain Biking Wales.
DAIRY MEADOWS
BRECON ROAD
HAY-ON-WYE