Hay-on-Wye

Known as the first book town in the world, this small market town on the Welsh border is a reader's retreat: secondhand and antiquarian bookstores in every direction, the River Wye at the bottom of the hill and green border country to walk off a morning's browsing. A week here can be nothing but shelves, tea and riverbank, with nobody expecting you to do anything more. The one time to avoid is the Hay Festival in late May, when the town fills with visitors for talks and events. The rest of the year it is a quiet place that happens to be full of books, and a wet day in the off season is close to ideal.