I'm a college student studying abroad in Europe this fall, and I'm spending a week in the UK. One of my goals for the visit is to go to Hay-On-Wye, which is a little village on the border between England and Wales that has more bookstores per capita than anywhere else in the world. My question is about transport--how do I get there? According to the town website, there is a Hereford-Brecon bus line that stops in Hay-On-Wye, and that seems like the best option (the nearest train stations are 20 miles away). How do I get to either of those cities quickly and cheaply? How far are they from London? Thanks in advance for the advice.

"<i>How do I get to either of those cities quickly and cheaply?</i>

Cheaply isn't much of a problem if you book ahead. It is the 'quickly' that will bite you

Depending on the specific train you choose, London Paddington to Hereford takes between 2 3/4 hrs and 3 1/2 hrs w/ one change. There is no train service to Brecon.

Most trains to Hereford require no change.

It might be cheaper (though certainly slower) to get the National Express bus from London to Gloucester, change to the local 33 bus to Hereford then get the bus to Hay.

Check the best advance fare you can find on the train at www.nationalrail.co.uk, then see how that compares with prices at National Express. Except by train or your own car, it's not possible to get to Hay and back to London in the same day if you want to spend any serious time in its shops. You probably need to organise your time in Britain so that Hay is part of a wider sweep through the North, the West or Wales.

Thanks for the advice. I only have 9 days in the UK, so it'll be a bit of a headache to get there, but I'm very excited to go. Given my time restrictions, it seems like it might make sense to take the train, even if it's more expensive.

Looks like you'll need to take the train from London to Hereford. From Hereford, take the Stagecoach Wales bus. Here's their schedule:

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUplo...e_10836_39.pdf