What Happened to The Hollybush Inn After The Hotel Inspector?

The Hotel Inspector (Channel 5) visited the Hollybush Inn in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, in an episode that aired on 23 May 2011 (series 7, episode 6). According to TheTVDB's episode page, owner Barbara Lewthwaite, a healer, wanted to turn her 18th-century inn into a relaxed, eco-friendly retreat. The property had tepees, a camping and caravan site, a five-bedroom B&B, and a bar and restaurant. Guests complained about the facilities, winter trade was slow, and money was tight. The show's episode list on Wikipedia describes the same ethical, nature-friendly concept and the poor reviews.

A Google Maps lookup on the featured name returned a listing called Holly Bush Camping at Brecon Road, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5PS, which Google marks as permanently closed (checked 2026-10-19). Its name is not identical to the inn's, so the match was checked: an Oyster.com page headed Hollybush Inn and Campsite gives its address as Hay-on-Wye HR3 5PS, the same postcode, and the television episode included a camping site. The Oyster.com page was published on 8 November 2024 and last modified on 19 May 2025, and it says nothing about whether the business is trading. A Google Maps listing's update date is not a closure date, and no news report or owner statement read gives a date or a reason.

The match rests on the shared postcode and the camping element, not on a source that links the two listings by name. The listing name refers to camping, so it does not by itself show whether the inn and B&B also stopped taking guests, and no source read after the 2011 broadcast describes the inn trading.