Enjoy a piece of the good life at the Smallholder and Garden Festival. New to this year's event are a farriery competition and a scurry-driving competition.

The world-famous Hay Festival, first held in 1988, was described by Bill Clinton as "The Woodstock of the mind". Recently, the festival has expanded to include musical performances and film previews. Last year's guest speakers included Gore Vidal, Jimmy Carter, Hanif Kureishi and Salman Rushdie. For a full programme of this year's events sign up for the Hay newsletter here.