World Book Day takes place each year in March, schools will be celebrating by inviting in authors and encouraging children to dress up as their favourite characters, helping them form a longstanding love of reading. We have a thriving creative community in and around the Brecon Beacons National Park, making this a superb region to find local books inspired by the countryside.
Ways to get involved
Plan a visit to Hay Festival
Hay Festival, one of the world’s biggest and best literary festivals and takes place each year for 10 days at the end of May to the start of June.
For a town of 1,500, Hay-on-Wye punches well above its weight. Famed as a booktown ever since ‘King’ Richard Booth opened the first secondhand bookshop 50 years ago, the launch of Hay Festival in 1988 earned it a place on the literary and global map.
Find out more about the festival and buy your tickets here.
Pop to Book-ish, Crickhowell
Visit the award winning independent bookshop in Crickhowell, at any one time you will find over 2,000 books at Book-ish subdivided by category and including a large selection of highly collectable copies signed by their authors. They also have a cafe on site, so perfect for a relaxing morning. Find out more here
Enjoy a browse around The National Botanic Garden Of Wales Shop
If you’re looking for a treat for yourself or a loved one, a visit to the National Botanic Garden of Wales is highly recommended, they also have an online shop has a variety of lovely products and gifts to choose from, including lots of Welsh books. Find out more here.
Visit The Old Railway Line Garden Centre
The Old Railway Link Garden Centre, in Three Cocks have a range of fun Children’s Books in their Gift Department for all of the little readers.
They also stock Tonie audio books. Research has proven that listening to audiobooks increases children’s interest in reading and writing! Find out more here
CRiC information centre
You’ll find local interest books, guidebooks and local walking books as well as locally made gifts in CRiC information centre in Crickhowell. CRiC is currently open Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm. Find out more here.
Visit The Hours Bookshop and Cafe, Brecon
In a gorgeous old green building on Ship Street, just a stone’s throw from the river, you’ll find one of the town’s most loved gems – a cafe serving fresh homemade food, a bookshop selling a carefully curated selection of books (new and old) and ‘bookish’ gifts, and an upstairs gallery showcasing the work of established and emerging artists.
The Hours is a cafe, a bookshop, a gallery, a meeting place, a foodie and cultural hub, and a warm welcome always awaits. We urge you to go and see for yourselves… Find out more here.
National Park Visitor Centre, Libanus
The shop at the National Park Visitor Centre in Libanus near Brecon usually has plenty of local maps in stock, along with crafts, souvenirs and books on local history and culture. It’s open every day of the year except Christmas Day.
Brecon Beacons Tourism 