A novel adventure in HAY-ON-WYE
Duration
Two nights
When
Spring 2021
Why?
Family adventures in a bookish and fascinating town
“Daddy, where’s Timbuktu?” Given that we were standing in the heart of Hay-on-Wye, the historic market town best known for its multitude of bookshops and annual festival, Harrison’s question took me a little by surprise.
It was only when I turned to see him staring inquisitively at a sign indicating that this, the most mythical of places, was 3745 miles away that I understood the context of his query.
As I watched him, I could see the same sense of wonder in his expression that had filled me when I stood at a sign pointing to Timbuktu. On the edge of the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco, the one that captured my imagination gave not a distance, but an estimated time of travel – 52 days, assuming you could pick your way through barren, inhospitable landscapes, and more importantly, that your camels
