It was my birthday and after breakfast we headed from Staunton-on-Wye into Hay-on-Wye. Hay-on-Wye is world renowned for books and bookshops. Its unique position on the border between England and Wales make Hay ideal for visitors to explore and enjoy the beautiful border country. Hay-on-Wye lies on the Welsh side of the Welsh/English Border in the County of POWYS, Wales. Although as far as the Royal Mail is concerned, it is better, apparently, to use the County of HEREFORDSHIRE, not to be confused with the county of HERTFORDSHIRE; a very popular mistake ! The Town Council's site shows the majority of the postal addresses are either 'via Hereford' or 'Herefordshire'.
It was wet.
Very wet!
Very, very wet.
This is the castle.
It was easier to take photos of the ground since pointing the camera horizontally just got the lens soaked.
The ground in one place was littered with red 'berries', except they aren't really berries.
The trees from which they have fallen are English Yew trees which go by the scientific name of Taxus baccata.
Baccata is Latin for bearing red berries. In fact the so-called berries are highly modified seed cones; each cone containing a single seed 4–7 mm long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure, open at the end, called an aril. The gelatinous aril is sweet tasting and edible but the seed itself is extremely poisonous and bitter. Notwithstanding this they are opened and eaten by some bird species including Hawfinches Greenfinches and Great Tits.
Next time I venture into my October holiday pictures it will be for a wet Herefordshire and some of its wonderful architecture. See you there, I hope.
Interesting that people get Hereford and Hertford mixed up. There was a similar mixup here some years ago, when someone tried to order tickets to a sporting event and gave their address as "New Mexico," only to be told they couldn't buy the tickets, because it was illegal to ship the tickets out of the country!! After Eryn spending four years going to school in New Mexico, a State since 1912, we all thought this was pretty funny. xoxo
ReplyDeleteIf I was a bird (the kind with feathers), I'd definitely want to be called "Great Tits". 8-)
ReplyDeleteMy kind of town with lots of antiquarian book stores. Those poisonous "berries" and the trees are very pretty; amazing some birds can eat them.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the buildings that you post! They are fascinating. And, as always, we learn so much from you! Amazing how the birds know to only eat the outside of the berries!
ReplyDeleteThe skinny little sidewalks...why? Just asking...
The roads were probably a bit narrower in the days of horses and carts (and there probably wasn't a pavement as such in those days). With the advent of the car the roadways were widened and pavements created but the distance between the old buildings can only accommodate narrow pavements.
DeleteWet or not, it looks an interesting place to explore, with both bookshops and a castle. What more could one want of a town? Well, yes, a nice café doesn't harm, either.
ReplyDeleteWe found a couple of nice cafes and there are still more cafes we haven't explored yet.
DeleteI didnt know this about yew berries AT ALL, thanks for explaining it. I know that they do look a bit different from ordinary berries when you stare closely at them. I think they look absolutely wonderful in fact. I know Hay well and hear from a good friend who lives nearby that the bookstores are finding it hard these days, since many people prefer to buy electronically. However there are many other nice places to go in the town. The Castle used to be a bookshop, I think they're now planning on restoring it - did you find out anything about that?
ReplyDeleteNo, Jenny, I we didn't hear anything about the castle being restored. I think the bookshops may have just about achieved a balance now. Some have gone but the town's tourist trade may be able to just about support those that are left. And there are certainly plenty of other nice places. Partner-who-loves-tea still hasn't been down the bridge and the river yet - mind you, the weather didn't make that a pleasant prospect on this last visit.
DeleteHaving to be very specific about the county reminds me of our postal zip code system. The saying here is, "no zip, slow trip; wrong zip, long trip!"
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a lovely place to explore, even when wet -- if you could ever get me out of the book shops!
Hay-on Wye....world renowned for books and bookshops....hey I'm there.....looks like my kind of place.
ReplyDeleteI loved the castle too.
I suspect that, like other bookshops I know, some of the bookshops in Hay will have adapted and will sell through various book sites like Abebooks and Amazon as well as in their shops.
ReplyDeleteI was intrigued by the 'professional' hair salon. I've not seen many amateur ones around recently.
Thanks for a nostalgic visit. Bet those 'berries' messed up one's shoes.
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