BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?

Subject: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 08:38 AM

We were at a wedding on Saturday at the brilliant Landale YHA just NW of Ambleside in the Lakes. Rooms were, as you would expect, basic bunk rooms and the 4 of us (Me, wife and 2 daughters) stayed in a 4 bunk room. Younger ones in the top bunks of course :-) There are other configurations I believe but that one suited us. Not en-suite but plenty of bathrooms and showers dotted about. They had a good bar and a splendid range of food. The staff could not have been more helpful and, all in all, it was a grand do! The price was £25 per person for the bed and an additional £6 for breakfast. You could also bring or buy your own food to prepare in the kitchen.

The wedding party had been going on since Friday and people had decked the place out with lights and table displays gathered from the surrounding woods. They had arranged a ceilidh band as well as the ubiquitous disco and the whole thing had a wonderful personised feel and, I suspect, was done for far less that the wedding 'packages' offered by many hotels nowadays.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, YHAs have certainly come on in leaps and bounds since their early days and, while retaining the low cost accommodation and shelter they are known for, they can also offer a lot more. Anyone have any similar experiences?

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 08:44 AM

This is the place.

D.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 08:56 AM

What's a yha, Dave?

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Raggytash
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 09:01 AM

Youth Hostel Association Joe, a great way to get relatively cheap, comfortable accommodation in out of the way places.

I used them a LOT when I was a teenager and as a young man, had many many happy hours in them.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 09:10 AM

Just as Raggy says, Joe but have a look at the link for the full story. Go to 'Home' then 'About'.

Cheers

Dave

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Raggytash
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 09:18 AM

There are some great one's Joe. One of my favourites is Black Sail in our Lake District.

Black Sail

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 11:24 AM

I used them extensively in the 70s, mostly in northern Scotland. They were more informal than a lot of the English ones. I took several school parties to the one at Ivinghoe and just once to Stow-On-The-Wold. Up north the English ones I used were at Ingleton, Langdon Beck and Dufton. I think my favourites would have to be Achmelvich, a little shack almost on the beach whose warden was Colin Jolly, and Ratagan, run in those days by two artists and lovely people called John and Jan Fisher. We have two of Jan’s paintings on the wall. We’ve also stayed at Tongue, Durness, Achiltibuie, Ullapool and several others down the west side. They were all joyous times when things had to be kept simple, and the mode of transport was always hitch-hiking. We learned not to try it on Sundays! I’m still a member but I haven’t stayed in a hostel for over 25 years. The last time I used them was on my solo four-day bike ride from Bury back to Bude in 1990. I stayed at Shrewsbury, Chepstow and Exford. I think that the YHA have streamlined the network somewhat. I hope the true spirit of hosteling is still alive. Maybe I’ll try it again. But a BAR in a youth hostel?? Never saw one of those! And in northern Scotland it was the case that if you turned up in a car you wouldn’t be booked in until the warden was satisfied that all the walkers and cyclists had been given priority.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 11:30 AM

Hosteling should be two ‘l’s. I’ve just proved that it was the spellchecker, not me!

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Raggytash
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 01:15 PM

My perennial haunts were Buxton, Millars Dale, Edale, Eyam and Hathersage in the Peak District, almost every weekend for years and Keswick & Ambleside in the Lake District on other occasions plus a few others here and there.

Great fun and very fond memories of long walks over the peaks and fells.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 01:27 PM

Funnily enough I never utilised them in my youth. I came to walking later on when I was already married and had youngsters myself so although a walk was a welcome break, an overnight stay was often out of the question.

Later on when the kids had grown a bit we started the 'lads weekend' away at the campsite in Edale behind Peg's cafe and have been away every February since staying in a variety of places, including tents, the caravans at Ingleton, bunk houses at Horton and Ribblehead and a fridge of a barn in Castleton. But never youth hostels. I shall certainly look into them for future use.

Do you reckon they could stand us Raggy? :-) Probably have to book an entire place so as not to disturb anyone else with the raucous goings on until the wee hours!

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Oct 17 - 01:49 PM

The wee hours? Huh. At my age the wee hours are 2am, 4am and 6am. That’s the times I get up for a wee.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Jos
Date: 11 Oct 17 - 04:54 AM

Hosteling - US spelling
Hostelling - UK spelling
(There are lots of other differences, not just color/colour etc.)

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Nick
Date: 11 Oct 17 - 09:14 AM

A friend of ours hired the whole of a Youth Hostel in Snowdonia for his 50th birthday some years back and we had a great time. The view was magnificent and it was a great spot to go walking etc the food was good and there was enough room for us to play music and do what we wanted. And very reasonable price. Just the sleeping was a bit dormitory like - but OK

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Nick
Date: 11 Oct 17 - 09:19 AM

The one we stayed at was at Bryn Gwynant and looking at the booking.com entry it is licensed too with beer at £3.50 a pint

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Gallus Moll
Date: 11 Oct 17 - 09:44 AM

If you are a member of SYHA then you can access hostels in other countries too.
They have streamlined and upgraded the hostels -- but they still range from the very simple remote ones and the city ones which do offer en suite rooms as well as dorms. There are also hostels you can hire exclusively for your own gathering / wedding etc at certain times of year- some are 'big houses' and quite dramatic!
Sadly they sold Carbisdale Castle.....

There are also quite a number of Independent Hostels (Blue Guide?) now -- they can vary quite a lot but if you check some of the traveller-guide sites for comments you can work out whether they would suit you.

Don't forget the bothies (Mountain Bothies Association) - most of which are really remote and small -- but amazing places to stay.
There's a Bothy Bible just out -- doesn't feature every one, but gives you a taste of what they are about!

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 11 Oct 17 - 11:34 AM

My brother law in law used to be a lecturer in horticulture and every year he would take groups of students all round England looking at the important gardens - stopping quite cheaply in YHAs. I used to meet up with him at a beautiful one in the village of Winster on the edge of the Peaks between Matlock and Bakewell. (famous for the Winster Gallop).

I did a gig for a friend at Coalbrookdale YHA, He booked the whole place out to celebrate his silver wedding. All his ftriends came from all over the place, My room was free - on account of me doing the gig. The room was very comfortable and clean. The whole experience was good.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 13 Oct 17 - 08:06 AM

Just booked a room at the YHA in Malham. Might sound a bit daft seeing as I live < 40 minutes drive from there but it will give me chance to spend some real quality time with my grandsons and take them on a night 'adventure'. I am really looking forward to it and I think they will enjoy it too.

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Raedwulf
Date: 18 Oct 17 - 06:41 PM

I haven't stayed in one for some years, but they do have some wonderful buildings. Two particularly notable ones, from personal experience....

St Briavels - This was used for many years by my original Medieval Society. It remains (I'm sure) a wonderful building, despite English Heretics having progressively buggered the place up & the YHA having made it impossible for mere "re-enactment societies" to be able to hire the place.

Wilderhope Manor - Fabulous Tudor (I think) manor house, that has the most wonderful spiral oak staircase. I really did walk up it with my eyes closed, just breathing in through my nose...

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 18 Oct 17 - 07:17 PM

Stayed at the one in Youlgreave, Derbyshire when the KlezNorth klezmer weekend used it. Converted three-story Co-Op building with the rooms named after different divisions within the Co-Op - "Dividends", "Linen", "Underwear" and so on. The only problem was the narrow twisty stairs - klezmer folks tend to lug big instruments around.

I stayed at the one in Corrour many years ago, before they modernized it. It was more like a very well-equipped bothy than a hostel. I don't remember it having electricity.

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 19 Oct 17 - 09:36 AM

My favourite, inside and out, would be Wilderness.
Magnificent set of chimneys!

http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/wilderhope-manor

Subject: RE: BS: Anyone use YHAs in the UK?
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 19 Oct 17 - 09:40 AM

"Wilderness" !! ??
well that would be quite a good alternative name for some
but I was echoing Raedwulf.

There's the link with photo anyway.