Hereford, United Kingdom
Wye End Rd, Hay-on-Wye
N/A
+44 2078373000
A festival with philosophy instead of music. What's not to love? To be fair there is music in the evenings, but I'm 100% here for the debates about the nature of reality and the origins of the universe. Seen some world class speakers here including Roger Penrose, Steven Pinker, John McWhorter and more - and the surroundings in the Wye valley are absolutely stunning. A short walk away from the main Hay book festival too, which runs concurrently.
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Beautiful festival, beautiful minds. Highly highly recommend
Avoid the \lavish banquet\ – 26 for only several mouthfuls. Food everywhere is extremely overpriced for the quantities – I'm only 9st 3lbs and was only full after having a banquet, then a Thai meal then 4 doughnuts afterwards. Yurts very expensive, and ticket system ridiculously confusing. Debates mostly brilliant and a wonderful atmosphere.
Music and philosophy! Same time as Haye Book Festival. Stimulating combination that makes you think and have fun. Does rain a bit in Wales.
Hard to describe how this festival marries so seamlessly the depth of incredible quality debates by the most renowned speakers and the freewheeling, joyous vibrancy of a real party atmosphere, with the traditional divide between speaker and audience being effectively removed in favour of collective participation. The event couldn't be farther removed from the stuffiness of traditional academia and it's a great space for those who think about philosophy not as a discipline for the elect, but as the dialectic exercise of thinking such as can only happen through real encounter with others and therefore accessible to all humans who are open to that encounter.
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