Hay Castle

#5084 among destinations in the United Kingdom

Forts and castles

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Facts and practical information

Hay Castle is a medieval fortification and 17th-century mansion house in the small town of Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales. Originally constructed as part of the Norman invasion of Wales, the castle was designed as a ringwork overlooking the town in either the late-11th or early-12th centuries. It was rebuilt in stone around 1200 by the de Braose family and then had a turbulent history, being attacked and burnt several times during the First and Second Barons' Wars, the wars with the Welsh princes, the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr and the Wars of the Roses. In the 17th century a Jacobean mansion house was built alongside the medieval keep and the property became a private home. Serious fires in 1939 and 1977 gutted the castle and, despite repairs in the 1980s, by the 21st century much of the building was derelict and unstable. Since 2011 it has been owned by the Hay Castle Trust who plan to renovate the property to form an arts and education centre. Following a restoration costing £5.5m, the castle is due to open to the public in April 2022. ()

Alternative names: Coordinates: 52°7'36"N, 3°12'47"W

Location

WalesUnited Kingdom

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Day trips

Hay Castle – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: Hay-on-Wye Bridge, Whitney-on-Wye toll bridge, Hergest Ridge, Clifford Castle.

5 miSE
Bridge
Hay-on-Wye Bridge, Hay-on-Wye
128 min walk • Hay Bridge spans the River Wye at Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales. Preceding the rebuild, the bridge was partly of stone and partly of wood, which itself replaced a stone bridge of seven arches, destroyed by a flood in 1795, and some remains of which form part of the later structure.
5.5 miE
Bridge
Whitney-on-Wye toll bridge
141 min walk • Whitney-on-Wye toll bridge is a single-carriageway, wood- and stone-construction in Herefordshire, England. The toll bridge carries the B4350 south from its junction with the A438, near Whitney-on-Wye, across the River Wye. It comprises two Grade II listed structures.
7.2 miNE
Nature, Natural attraction, Hill
Hergest Ridge
184 min walk • Hergest Ridge is a large elongated hill which traverses the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom, between the town of Kington in Herefordshire and the village of Gladestry in Powys.
4.8 miE
Forts and castles
Clifford Castle
123 min walk • Clifford Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Clifford which lies 2.5 miles to the north-east of Hay-on-Wye in the Wye Valley in Herefordshire, England. It was the caput of the feudal barony of Clifford, a Marcher Lordship.
4.5 miS
Church
Maesyronnen Chapel
115 min walk • Maesyronnen Chapel is about 1 mile north of the village of Glasbury, Powys, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.
5.1 miSE
Church
St Mary's Church, Hay-on-Wye
131 min walk • St Mary's is an Anglican parish church in Hay-on-Wye, Brecknockshire, Powys, Wales. Separated by a deep dingle, which probably was formerly a moat, it is situated westward of the town upon an almost precipitous eminence, near to the River Wye.
5.1 miSE
Bridge
Dulas Bridge, Hay-on-Wye
129 min walk • Dulas Bridge spans Dulas Brook, a tributary of the River Wye in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales. The Dulas bridge, near Hay station, was a joint counties bridge—Brecknock and Radnor.
5.6 miW
Forts and castles
Aberedw Castle
144 min walk • The remains of Aberedw Castle, also known as 'Castle in Elfael Uwch Mynydd', are located at the small village of Aberedw in the county of Powys, Mid-Wales.
7.2 miNW
Prehistoric site
Gilwern Hill
183 min walk • Gilwern Hill is a hill about 3 mi / 5 km southeast of Llandrindod Wells in the county of Powys, Wales.
7.2 miSW
Nature, Natural attraction, Forest
Mynydd Fforest
183 min walk • Mynydd Fforest is a hill about two miles northwest of Llyswen in the county of Powys in Wales. It rises to 400 m from the lower slopes of the Epynt.
4.6 miN
Nature, Natural attraction, Mountain
Gwaunceste Hill
117 min walk • Gwaunceste Hill is a 542-metre-high hill in the county of Powys in east Wales. It falls within the communities of Gladestry and Glascwm around 4 km east of the village of Hundred House and about 2 km north of the hamlet of Glascwm.