Requiem for the YHA

[teeonethousand]

I am planning out a trip up to, and along, the Coast and Castles route to Edinburgh for sometime next spring...probably mid May. I am finding that about £100.00 /night is what's needed to stay close to the trail. Sometimes with breakfast.

Ditto a daydream sketch out of Lejog maybe later next year

I blame the tourists😂😂

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If you are travelling on your own then costs can mount up. Often a twin does not cost much more than a single. Travelling as a pair keeps costs more managaeable.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Sod the sandal wearing peace hippies. Camper van for me.

The hostels I’ve stayed at in the last couple of years are Lochranza (Arran) and Once Brewed (Hadrians Wall). For the former we got a four bed room for £27 each. For the latter I’d booked a dorm bed for £20 but as they weren’t full, was given another four bed room to myself. I’d say in both cases the hostels were popular with families with small kids. But very few turned up on foot or bike, lugging things in from their conveniently (for them) parked cars.

I was happy with both the above stays, but as the YHA network has been decimated it’s difficult to construct a low cost tour using only them. It’s obviously easier cycling than walking, where you can cover much bigger distances each day. There are camping barns, bunkhouses, and independent hostels. A bit of research will pull them up.

 

[Jameshow]

Independent hostels are the way to go tbh

The owners are doing it because they believe in it.

YHA has become a brand like CRT, NT, CTC etc not in it for the love of it but for the business.

Head office drives the machine and to the detriment of the service user.

Happens all the time in Charity sector where I work.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Have a look at independent hostels as well. You will have to be flexible with the ultimate route you come up with, if you are to keep costs manageable.

https://independenthostels.co.uk/discover/perfect-for-you/

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Oban hostel has beds for £28 a night, next June. Then Tobermory for £26 a night. Up the west coast is not really much longer than east coast, and a bit of Island hopping in Scotland is a great way to do a LEJOG.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I went hostelling on my bike with friends a few times, and walking on my own a couple of times. I enjoyed it, back when I was youthful.

But if that's not what youthful people want these days (and looking back on it - communal dorms, chores - I can't really blame them) then there's no point maintaining a service that the main target clientele don't want.

Times change.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

But if that's not what youthful people want these days

You did well to add the “if”. Whilst there can be general trends I’d be wary of saying people born in certain years ranges don’t want this or that. Either way the choices have been somewhat reduced here whether something is wanted or not.

I went hostelling around 9 years old on a school trip. Not much later we did it independently to our local hostels in the Peak. I wonder how many youngsters would love such an opportunity if their parents let them at that age? Likely safe guarding would arise these days, which may or may not be related to the decline of cheap hostels for youth. But one parent and a young child walking between hostels on an “adventure” could be transformative for the child. Though the latter isn’t so independent

 

[Drago]

Do LeJog, get someone to drive a camper. You've always got somewhere to sleep, shelter and emergency backup ar but a phone call away, and you dont risk waking up next to Lenny Henry.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Do LeJog, get someone to drive a camper. You've always got somewhere to sleep, shelter and emergency backup ar but a phone call away, and you dont risk waking up next to Lenny Henry.

Now who has a camper 🤔 Who might he end up spooning?

 

[Drago]

Now who has a camper 🤔 Who might he end up spooning?

Im hoping Jennifer Lawrence has a camper and a few weeks off work.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Im hoping Jennifer Lawrence has a camper and a few weeks off work.

Carol will be upset

 

[Drago]

Carol will be upset

She had her chance.

Anyway, im a grown man with emotions and feelings. Im not a sex object, which is all Carol would have wanted me for. Although I cant blame her.

 

[sevenfourate]

I'd forgotten about the chores!

You memorised that line after hearing my kids; didn’t you Pete…….

 

[Profpointy]

I have never stayed in a Youth Hostel, not that I had anything against them as such, but have heard a few too many unfavourable stories.

A pal was doing the pemrokeshire coast path and was staying at a hostel. At lights out time, the warden announced that he'd accidentally allowed too many people to book in and slung out the last person to arrive. Fair enough the overbooking was an honest mistake, but to sling someone out in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere is outrageous. "I'm really sorry you'll have to make do with the sofa cushions" would have been a reasonable compromise surely?


I've known a few people back late and not being allowed in. Again fair enough if they've been out carousing in the pub, but one pal had had a logistical nightmare trying to bus back from another town with a mended motorcycle wheel then ended up sleeping in a phone box.

I seem to remember they no longer allow actual " youth" to stay unless their accompanied by an adult, which kind of defeats the point