Vintage in Hay on Wye

 I finally made it to Hay on Wye this weekend. It was only a flying visit, as we had family to see as well. The day was beautiful, the sort of crisp and sunny day autumn is supposed to be full of. The mountains and the trees were wonderful and it's on days like these that I long to live somewhere prettier than Bristol.

The view from the road

We did our normal tour of Hay, taking in most of the vintage and antiques shops, plus a number of the bigger book shops. I took lots of pictures of pretty things, but I feel I missed a lot of the best sights, if only because I was rummaging for goodies!

 



The Olde curiosity shoppe is one of my favourites. It's jammed full of clothes, homewares, music books, fabric and crafting bits and jewellery. I love going in for a rummage!





Sage femme is my second favourite shop, and is more second hand than vintage, but the whole place is themed in a mid C20th French style, so it's full of beautiful finds from France and England, old and new, all presented in a wonderful way.



A stack of vintage veils



 Next, onto  Booths Books, the biggest bookshop in Hay and recently refurbished with a cafe and a number of sofas and chairs. Unlike a lot of Hay, the books are very well organised and alphabetised, so it's easy to find specific books, and there are 2 resident cats!

 There was a sweet shop in the back of a rather imposing antiques shop selling blankets and quilts, along with a few vintage nicknacks. Afraid I forgot to look at the name of the shop!

 Finally I went to another shop I can't remember the name of, but it's one with lots of small traders throughout. The rooms are small and packed, so it was hard to take photos but I got one of a clothes area at the back of the shop. There's always something nice in here and it's got such a huge range of items it's a good place to spend some time rummaging.

Onto what I bought then! In the last shop I bought this trunk for £12! It all works despite a little rust and I'm going to use it ti store blankets I think. It's really big so I think I got a bargain.

 I also picked up a white opera scarf for Tom (becuase we go to the opera all the time dontcha know :/ ) and a suitcase, which was another cheap find for £10!

 Finally, in Abergavenny, Tom saw this owl and bought it for me, bacause I am owl crazy. Isn't he cute? He's supposed to be a doorstop but I'm going to keep him on a shelf so that the cats don't eat him. His name is Lord Oliver Wise, which I think suits him perfectly.