HOTELS and guest houses in Abergavenny are bursting at the seams with reservations for next year’s National Eisteddfod.

The town’s hospitality providers are expecting to be jam-packed with guests visiting for the festival of Welsh language and culture from July 31 to August 6.

Castle Meadows will play host to the Maes, the primary site of festivities with its famous pink pavilion.

Sacha Child, manager at the King’s Arms Hotel in Nevill Street is one trader who has been swamped by demand.

She revealed, “We have been fully booked for the Eisteddfod for over three months already.”?

Such a rush was nothing new for the busy hotel.

“?It’s quite normal for us to be booked so far in advance,” she admitted.

Bookings for next year’s food festival in the town are already coming in.

The nearby Angel Hotel is also expecting a full house during the Eisteddfod.

Marketing manager Jo Nugent said, “We are hosting a lot of visitors from North Wales and further afield, and we will be providing a menu of Welsh-themed dishes throughout the Eisteddfod week.”?

The Angel is also the venue for the presentation of the prestigious Welsh Learner of the Year Award 2016.

The award is given to the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable learner of the Welsh language each year.

But it’s not just the large hotels who are bracing themselves for the tide of eager Eisteddfod-goers as B&Bs are also taking early bookings.

One guest house owner on the edge of town was surprised to have had one booking for an Eisteddfod visitor from Mid Wales.

She said, “?It is unusual for us to have such a booking in advance.”?

There is even talk among members of the public, anxious to cash in on Eisteddfod fever, about letting private parking spaces outside their houses during the week long festival to cope with the influx.

Accommodation further afield is also seeing a busy spike around the Eisteddfod period.

In Usk, the Three Salmons is already expecting to be at capacity with visitors from across Wales and beyond.

And in Crickhowell, hotels are also brimming with bookings for the far-off festival.

Roger Francis at the Bear Hotel said, ?”I am currently up to my eyeballs with bookings for next year’s Green Man festival.?

“But we are also seeing a lot of demand for the Eisteddfod,”?he added.

It’s not just the Eisteddfod keeping hotels busy in early August.

The Manor, just outside Crickhowell, is also fully booked ? but with wedding parties for the summer season.

• Fully booked... Sacha Child, manager of the King?s Arms Hotel in Abergavenny