The Butter Market was built by William Enoch in 1830 to replace an old open market in order to provide a covered area for local traders on market days which are always on Thursdays.

The Butter Market interior. It is a grade II listed building and had been walled up during the second World War but was re-opened and restored by Hay Warren Trustees in 1985.

The Cheese Market is not far from the Butter Market and was built by Sir Joseph Bailey in 1835 as the manorial court room, with a market hall below. It is a grade II listed building and has been restored by local people.

The front view of Hay Castle.

The original Norman Keep is thought to have been built during the late 12th century by William de Braose, a wealthy and powerful baron who was renowned for murdering his enemies in a Game of Thrones style.

The rear view of Hay Castle.

Relative peace in the Welsh borders, after the Act of Union and the removal of the Marches in the 16th century, meant that the site was transformed into a more domestic setting. It is thought that there was originally a small Tudor house that adjoined the keep, which was then incorporated into the larger Jacobean mansion that we see today.

With over twenty bookshops, Hay-on-Wye is often described as "the town of books". Since 1988, Hay-on-Wye has been the venue for a literary festival which draws a claimed 80,000 visitors over ten days around the end of May and beginning of June. There are even these books just inside the entrance to the Castle grounds.

The road from Hay-on-Wye leading to Llanthony goes via Gospel Pass; the highest road pass in Wales. The views from the top are worth the drive.

Arthur's Stone, a Neolithic Chambered Tomb, is about 6 miles east of Hay-on-Wye just north of the village of Dorstone over the border in Herefordshire.