Top 10 Free Things To Do and Attractions in Hay on Wye

"After Welsh marauders torched the original Saxon cathedral, the Norman rulers of Hereford erected a larger, grander cathedral on the same site. The building was subsequently remodelled in a succession of medieval architectural styles.The signature highlight is the magnificent Mappa Mundi, a single piece of calfskin vellum intricately painted with some rather fantastical assumptions about the layout of the globe in around 1290. The same wing contains the world's largest surviving chained library of rare manuscripts manacled to the shelves."

"Built of local red sandstone, Hereford Cathedral retains a large central tower and some fine 11th-century Norman carvings, although most…"

"Ascending Pen-y-Fan (886m), the tallest peak in the Brecon Beacons, is one of the most popular hikes in the park (around 350,000 people make the climb annually, giving it the nickname 'the motorway'). The shortest route begins at the Pont ar Daf car park on the A470, 10 miles southwest of Brecon. It's a steep but straightforward slog up to the summit of Corn Du (873m), followed by a short dip and final ascent to Pen-y-Fan (4.5 miles return; allow three hours)."

"On your last day, take your pick from adventurous activities – such as climbing Pen y Fan, southern Wales’ highest peak – to visiting the ‘most romantic ruin in Wales’, Carreg Cennen, or enjoying one of the most famous driving routes in the country, the twisting, turning and super-scenic A4069. The National Park is full of energetic activities and more relaxing ones."

"Just outside the village of Much Marcle, 4 miles southwest of Ledbury, lies the beautiful 17th-century manor of Hellens, kept like a…"

"Halfway along the impossibly beautiful Vale of Ewyas lie the atmospheric ruins of this Augustinian priory, set among pasture and wooded hills by the River Honddu. Perhaps the second most important abbey in Wales when completed in 1230, it was abandoned after Henry VIII dissolved Britain's monasteries in 1538. Running a close second to Tintern for grandeur, Llanthony's setting is even more stunning, and you won't have crowds to fight. JMW Turner was impressed, too: he painted the scene in 1794."

"Originally the home of the Vaughan family, Tretower gives you two historic buildings for the price of one: the sturdy circular Norman keep, now roofless and commanding only a sheep-nibbled bailey, and a 15th-century manor house with a fine garden and orchard (now furnished with picnic tables). Together they illustrate the transition from military stronghold to country house that took place in late-medieval times. It's situated 3 miles northwest of Crickhowell on the A479."

"Halfway up a thickly forested hillside in the Vale of Eywas, this tiny 11th-century church is like a time capsule of Welsh faith and culture, buried too deeply in these hills ever to change. Astonishing as it is in its perfectly situated, weathered simplicity, it's inside that its true wonders reveal themselves: a finely carved wooden rood screen and loft, dating from around 1500; medieval frescos of biblical texts; coats of arms and a red-ochre skeleton; and memorials to people long dead."

"Just outside the village of Much Marcle, 4 miles southwest of Ledbury, lies the beautiful 17th-century manor of Hellens, kept like a…"

"Halfway along the impossibly beautiful Vale of Ewyas lie the atmospheric ruins of this Augustinian priory, set among pasture and wooded hills by the River Honddu. Perhaps the second most important abbey in Wales when completed in 1230, it was abandoned after Henry VIII dissolved Britain's monasteries in 1538. Running a close second to Tintern for grandeur, Llanthony's setting is even more stunning, and you won't have crowds to fight. JMW Turner was impressed, too: he painted the scene in 1794."