Hay Castle Events

Life Drawing is back for the Autumn term - beginning at 11am and finishing at 4pm

This takes place in the Clore Learning Space every other Monday from 11am until 4pm.



Please bring your own materials

The sessions cost £18 for the full day from 11-4pm and £12 for a morning or afternoon session only.
The morning session starts at 11am so please arrive at about 10.45am
The afternoon session starts at 1:45pm so please arrive at least 10 mins beforehand

11 - 12 - Drawing
12 - 12.15 - Break
12.15 - 1.15 - Drawing
1.15 - 1.45 - Lunch
1.45 - 2.45 - Drawing
2.45 - 3pm - Break
3 - 4pm - Drawing

Write The Book, Hay Castle, Hay-on-Wye. The Writing Retreat For Authors-To-Be.

A retreat for new writers and book lovers in rural Wales. Immerse yourself in the famous book town of Hay-on-Wye. Meet authors and booksellers, write, browse the magical bookshops, and enjoy exclusive events.

Price: £150 per day (excluding accommodation & travel)
Booking terms: £50 deposit, no refunds
Location: Hay-on-Wye
Date: Tue 25 Nov 10.00 to Wed 26 Nov 16:00

Price Includes:

• bookshop tours and talks

• writing hours

• lunches, snacks, coffees, teas, juices and cakes

• group coaching & mindful activities

• delicious food and special experiences

Suitable for anyone who loves reading and has a writing project they’d like to explore.

You’ll meet published authors including Helena Attlee for informal, cosy Q & As. There’ll be optional wellness activities to help you feel inspired and motivated. Team this with stunning countryside, a dreamy riverside location, vibrant local markets and delicious food, it’s the magical pre-Christmas trip you’ll want to be part of.

This event is being run by Helen Jane Campbell at Coaching by Helen - click here to book tickets

Hay Festival is taking over Hay Castle for their annual Winter Weekend at the end of November.

Because of this we are offering half price entry during the week of the 24 Nov to the 27 Nov.

For the Friday 28, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 Nov entry will be free but please note that nearly all areas will be closed as events are taking place.

If you are planning on visiting Hay Castle as a Heritage venue then we would recommend choosing alternative dates.

For more information on Hay Festival Winter Weekend please see their website: hayfestival


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This takes place in the Clore Learning Space every other Monday from 11am until 4pm.

Please bring your own materials

The sessions cost £18 for the full day from 11-4pm and £12 for a morning or afternoon session only.
The morning session starts at 11am so please arrive at about 10.45am
The afternoon session starts at 1:45pm so please arrive at least 10 mins beforehand

11 - 12 - Drawing
12 - 12.15 - Break
12.15 - 1.15 - Drawing
1.15 - 1.45 - Lunch
1.45 - 2.45 - Drawing
2.45 - 3pm - Break
3 - 4pm - Drawing

With more than 30 individual makers on show, join us at the Castle for an extravaganza of ideas for Christmas. Treat your friends, family, or yourself from a range of unique and inspiring crafts by local makers from ceramics, jewellery, glass, baskets, food gifts, clothing, photography, painting and much, much more.

Free entry all day.

A Child's Christmas is a double bill of two wonderful Christmas stories by two famous Welshmen - Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton.

Dylan Thomas ‘A Child's Christmas in Wales’ is back! We’re delighted to welcome Lighthouse Theatre back to the Castle with their wonderful evocation of a child's delight at the festive season. Richard Burton's A Christmas Story is not as well known, but is a funny, warm and thought provoking account of childhood memories...in many ways it was a conscious response to Dylan Thomas' own childhood narrative. Told by award-winning actors Adrian Metcalfe and James Scannell, this evening's festive entertainment has been described by the press as 'masterful story-telling' and 'perfect festive fare'.
Burton and Thomas were actors whose love of words shines through these two short but heart warming stories. Described by the South Wales Evening Post as ‘a joy’, this ‘Welsh Icons Xmas show’ returning for it’s third year at the Castle signals the start of many peoples festivities.

‘There were very few white Christmases in my part of Wales’….

£12.50
£8.00 concessions
7.00pm

Composer and poet Giles Swayne will be reading selections from his recent book of 200 sonnets, Matters arising. Known for his powerful choral compositions, Swayne reveals in his poetry the same intellectual rigour and emotional depth which characterises his music.

Matters arising is Swayne’s first major poetry collection. The sonnets reflect on memory, mortality, and the quiet dramas of everyday existence. Many of them are comic, and some are quite lewd. To quote Christopher Reid (Poetry Editor at Faber and Faber from 1991 to 1999) they are “an emphatic declaration on the side of high spirits, and a refusal to be cowed or silenced by menacing realities.”

CXXXIX As the actress said to the bishop

“Cor, that’s a big one, Bish!” the actress lied.

“You’re quite a Lord, my lad,” she coyly giggled

As he unveiled his archepiscopal pride

And joy. “Well, thank you, dear!” he blushed, and wriggled

In modest and obese embarrassment.

“But I must warn you, Madam,” he pursued,

“We bishops are subject to sexual harassment

And blackmail. When I featured in the nude

As centrefold of Hustler magazine

Some years ago, most clergymen enthused

About the pics (both tasteful and obscene),

But Synod – sadly – was not much amused,

And sentenced me to wear sackcloth and ashes

For forty days, and suffer forty lashes.”

CLXXXVII Hello?

Why do we write? What fine words can we utter

To butter parsnips? Is that old creative

Urge a genetic tic, a mere neurosis?

Perhaps it is; perhaps we leave our mark

In music, words or pictures like a dog

Which lifts its leg against a pissing-tree

To mark its passage – “Hello, world – it’s me!”

It’s not as if this planet’s all agog

To read these lines; why, then, did I embark

On writing them? Was it some strange hypnosis

Which led me on? Are bardic urges native

To all of us, or am I just a nutter?

Whatever be the reason, all I know

Is that it does me good to say hello.

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Following the critical acclaim of their debut album Source of the Severn, the Will Barnes Quartet returns with Outside the Light—a bold and expressive new chapter in their artistic journey. This second album deepens the group’s exploration of the interplay between jazz improvisation and the evocative landscapes of Mid Wales and the Welsh Marches. Through a collection of original compositions, the album weaves lyrical beauty with intricate rhythmic interplay.
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Led by guitarist and composer Will Barnes, the quartet features pianist Jack Gonsalez, bassist Aidan Thorne, and drummer James Batten—an ensemble recognised for its tight chemistry and compelling live performances. Their sound pays homage to jazz greats such as Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, and Oscar Peterson, while forging a distinct voice rooted in contemporary expression.

The quartet has performed at major UK venues and festivals, including Pizza Express Jazz Club (Soho), Hay Festival, Brecon Jazz Festival, and BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends. Source of the Severn earned praise from critics, with MOJO highlighting their “springy deftness… cool precision… serious chops,” and The Jazz Mann describing the album as “evocative, intelligent… contemporary.”
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Outside the Light showcases a group in full creative stride, offering audiences an immersive evening of modern jazz that’s both emotionally resonant and musically sophisticated.