Lorentz Gullachsen
The town of Abergavenny, which is known as the "Gateway to Wales"
Eisteddfod And Other Welsh Festivals
One of the best ways to discover Welsh life is to sample the many festivals that pop up each spring and summer across the country. The largest is the annual National Eisteddfod (held the first week of August), a mostly Welsh-speaking affair gathering some 150,000 people for competitions in sculpting, singing, and poetry. Its climax is the “chairing of the bard,” when the winner of the poetry contest is revealed onstage. The Hay Festival, held each year toward the end of May in Hay-on-Wye (the bibliophilic town is home to some 30 bookshops), has become Europe’s preeminent literary happening. Set among rolling hills along the English border, the fest gathers a mix of locals and London literati for a kaleidoscopic array of events with writers, comedians, filmmakers, and politicians. Bill Clinton once called it “the Woodstock of the mind.” For a weekend of great music without huge crowds, head to the Green Man Festival (August 21 to 23, 2009) near Crickhowell. The grounds of the sprawling Glanusk Park and Estate form a natural amphitheater where alt-folk, indie, rock, and jazz acts perform.
$999+: England, Scotland & Wales 9-Day Tour w/Hotels & More Globus & Cosmos
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