Hay-on-Wye the Dulas Brook. The Town Council consists of a Mayor, Deputy Mayor and eight councillors. Hay also participates in the election of a councillor to Powys County Council as part of a larger county division. The B4350 runs through the town and the B4351 links it with the main A438 from Brecon to Hereford, on the far side of the River Wye. The town was formerly served at Hay-on-Wye railway station by the train services known as the "Canney Creeper", which closed in 1963 under the Beeching Axe. Hay-on-Wye is a destination for bibliophiles in the United Kingdom, still with
Wye Valley the opening of the Severn Bridge (now part of the M48) in 1966. The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was first designated in 1971. The designation indicates the importance of recognising and preserving the area's distinctive qualities, for the benefit of present and future generations. Administratively the area is very complex, being the only protected landscape to straddle the border between England and Wales. The Counties of Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire are each in a different government region. Co-ordination of conservation across these political boundaries is undertaken by an AONB unit and Joint Advisory Committee. A Management