Where beer casks once sat, there is now a second sitting room under a brick-vaulted ceiling. The lower ground floor of Hay Market House in Hay-on-Wye used to be the cellar of a pub, and it is one of the rooms guests see first when they book the property through Luxury Cottages.
The house sleeps up to four across two bedrooms and two bathrooms. For roughly 200 years it served drinks. It is thought to be among the oldest buildings in the Welsh market town, and its front façade goes back to the 1700s.
Inside, the restoration kept what most renovators would flatten. The floors still slope and the structural timbers are on show. A narrow staircase winds up to the attic.
Four floors, room by room
Think of it as a vertical stack. The ground floor is an open-plan living and dining area with a wood-burning stove, and the kitchen sits right next to it. Out back, a tucked-away courtyard garden has seating and a gas barbecue.
One floor up is the master bedroom, with a super-king-size bed, a seating area and an en-suite bathroom. The bath has a shower over it, according to Wales Online. On the second floor, the attic suite has a double bedroom and an adjoining sitting room, where a foldaway single bed sits.
That extra bed is what makes the house workable for a couple with a child, not just two adults.
Location and what guests say
Hay Market House is a short walk from the town’s bookshops, independent boutiques, cafés, pubs, restaurants and weekly market. It also suits visitors heading to the Hay Festival. Those who prefer the outdoors can walk, hike or canoe in the Wye Valley countryside around the town.
Past guests have left warm reviews. One wrote: “The cottage was absolutely gorgeous, everything high spec and classy. The bed was like sleeping on a big marshmallow – divine!” The same reviewer compared the house to the Tardis, small from the street and roomy inside.
Another praised the character of the place and the host, and tipped other visitors to “get up early for the market and for bread from the Deli.”
There is one complaint. A third guest called it a “great cottage” but warned that it stands “very close to the clock tower, so not one for light sleepers.” Another reviewer, though, wrote that they “loved the sound of the old town clock next door.”
For larger groups, the coverage points to other Welsh rentals. Llys Alaw in Conwy, a Grade 2 listed property, sleeps eight and is bookable through Sykes Cottages. Bull Pens cottage in Brecon is another renovated large holiday let, listed through holidaycottages.co.uk.
Sources
Sources
- Historic 200-year-old cottage ideal for families and book lovers
- Hay-on-Wye History & Tourist Information
