What to expect from Hay Festival
Ready for a world of different experiences? The booktown of Hay-on-Wye welcomes writers, readers, thinkers and dreamers of all ages for 11 days of events and activities.
There’s something for all ages on site, including dazzling late night performances and a 600+ event line up offering something for everyone. Events include Adam Buxton, Anne Applebaum, Ben Okri, Billy Ocean, Cerys Matthews, Cressida Cowell, David Spiegelhalter, Eimear McBride, Elif Shafak, Grayson Perry, Hamza Yassin, Hanan Issa, Hanif Kureishi, Jacqueline Wilson, Jameela Jamil, James Rebanks, Jeanette Winterson, Jesse Armstrong, Julia Donaldson, Katherine Ryan, Kehinde Andrews, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Michael Rosen, Miranda Hart, Mona Chalabi, Natalie Haynes, Paloma Faith,Russell Foster, Ruth Jones, Sara Pascoe, Stephen Fry, Yotam Ottolenghi, Yulia Navalnaya and many more.
The Festival Village sits just outside the booktown of Hay-on-Wye, the site is free to enter and open to all to explore at your leisure. Events are individually priced with plenty of free pop-up performances each day.
Set in the tranquil surrounds of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, it's the perfect holiday adventure for all families.
Discover more and plan your trip at hayfestival.org
When is Hay Festival?
This year, Hay Festival will take place from Thursday 22 May to Sunday 1 June 2025.
Where is Hay Festival?
The closest train station can be found at Hereford. There is a special bus service running between Worcester, Hereford and Hay-on-Wye throughout the Festival, linking with arrivals at Hereford train station and at Hereford and Worcester Crowngate bus stations. Tickets for all journeys can be bought on the bus.
Ticket prices
Adults: £10 single, £14 day return, £16 period return
Children (5 to 15 years): travel for free
We’re sorry that concessionary passes cannot be used on this service.
The shuttle operates from Thursday 22 to Monday 2 June. The festival will advertise the shuttle bus timetable closer to the festival dates, so you can make a more detailed plan to get home.