What should we have in our bunkhouse

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
hamish
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Joined: 5 Mar 2008, 11:29pm

Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by hamish »

i use quite a lot of bunkhouses, hostels, bothys, etc. I don't like booking really so tend to turn up or phone on the day. What I really like is places that I can turn up to and stay if there is room but camp outside if there isn't. That means you don't have to worry about booking but know you have somewhere you can stay at, use the kitchen, etc and then sleep outside if need be. I don't mind paying the full fee if need be as I'm not avoiding the cost. I just like the freedom of this option.

So if you have some convenient flat and not too boggy grass nearby, don't have problems with allowing camping and can find a way of fitting it into your pricing, etc. I recon it would be a good option to include.
MartinBrice
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Joined: 13 Nov 2007, 9:57am

Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by MartinBrice »

This is a good point, and touring cyclists like to know they're going to be able to stop somewhere. An area for tents that is sheltered from the prevailing wind is nice - some have tenting areas exposed to gales. And the campers need access to the toilets during the night, obvs.
nosmarbaj
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Joined: 17 Aug 2011, 3:02pm
Location: West Berks

Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by nosmarbaj »

+1 for the camping option, especially if there are no other campsites within a few miles. You could even consider having a couple of tents for hire when your rooms are full. (These wouldn't need to be very expensive - above the cheapest level, what you pay for in a tent are mainly light weight and ability to withstand wind - neither of which would be important for you, assuming you had a reasonably sheltered camping area.)
PJ520
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Location: Seattle WA USA

Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by PJ520 »

andymiller wrote:The toolbox with a place for everything should mean you can check at a glance whether everything is present and correct, just in case anyone absentmindedly forgets to return a tool to the box.

And when it comes to what to put in the vending machine you could include disposable latex gloves, wet wipes, and puncture repair patches.
I don't believe this checking will happen. For many years I was a member of a successful caving club and disappearing kit was a perennial problem.That was in a club where your membership had to be approved by a committee without the kind of people who think that because they paid for a room the towels etc. are theirs. And if you do find a tool missing what do you do about it? Chase them down the road? (if you know who inadvertently took it.) Suppose you had a party of ten leaving, Who keeps tabs on the tools then?

I do like the idea about the vending machine
You only live once, which is enough if you do it right. - Mae West
andymiller
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by andymiller »

Pete Jack wrote: And if you do find a tool missing what do you do about it? Chase them down the road? (if you know who inadvertently took it.) Suppose you had a party of ten leaving, Who keeps tabs on the tools then?


My words were fairly deliberate. You can check at a glance, whether you'd want to I don't know - at £50 you could probably buy a new one each year. But if I were borrowing a £50 toolkit I wouldn't resent paying a £20 deposit and making sure everything was present and correct when I returned it - or resent the person who lent me the kit taking a second or two to make sure nothing is missing.
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Paulatic
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Paulatic »

The OP never mention the exact location. I believe this is it...opened in June this year. Has anyone stayed there yet?
http://www.cyclistswelcome.co.uk/establ ... uridge-bay
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PhilWhitehurst
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by PhilWhitehurst »

The difference between a good and bad bunkhouse comes to the fore when you arrive in bad weather.

Can I get out of my wet and potentially muddy kit off whilst out of the weather?
Can I put my bike somewhere safe out of the weather?
Can I get a hot shower no matter how many before have had one?
Is there somewhere where my kit will dry by the morning no matter all the other wet kit there?
Is the bunkhouse warm and cozy or cold and draughty?
Is there a kitchen area to prepare a hot meal as i don't fancy going back out in the bad weather?
Is there a hot chocolate machine and / or a machine I can buy some to make a hot drink?
Is the bed nice and comfortable with a large duvet or extra blankets to keep warm?
Is there a communal area I can relax my weary bones with a book?
Am I welcome if I arrive late due to poor weather?
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Paulatic
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Paulatic »

PhilWhitehurst wrote:The difference between a good and bad bunkhouse comes to the fore when you arrive in bad weather.

Can I get out of my wet and potentially muddy kit off whilst out of the weather?
Can I put my bike somewhere safe out of the weather?
Can I get a hot shower no matter how many before have had one?
Is there somewhere where my kit will dry by the morning no matter all the other wet kit there?
Is the bunkhouse warm and cozy or cold and draughty?
Is there a kitchen area to prepare a hot meal as i don't fancy going back out in the bad weather?
Is there a hot chocolate machine and / or a machine I can buy some to make a hot drink?
Is the bed nice and comfortable with a large duvet or extra blankets to keep warm?
Is there a communal area I can relax my weary bones with a book?
Am I welcome if I arrive late due to poor weather?

Wayfarers in Penrith ticks all those boxes :D free wifi too
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

https://stcleve.wordpress.com/category/lejog/
E2E info
Canuk
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Joined: 4 Oct 2016, 11:43pm

Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Canuk »

+1 on sockets for USB. Perhaps a USB charging rack. I stayed in a bunkhouse in Yorkshire last month, with NO sockets at all other than in the kitchen!

Free Wi-Fi is good, but it can be a curse especially if trying to 'get away from it all'. A paid for Wi-Fi would bring you in some extra cash, and easy to set up and give the rest of us a quiet night!

Definitely a big tools box, with a few spares and an honesty box should anyone need them. This is a common thing in Canada nowadays, and even local stores and far flung fast food cafes on cycling routes have them. You can buy decent enough tool kits on eBay for 15-20 quid (basically what Halfords sell for 30),if you lose the odd tool easy enough to replace from eBay for pennies. Again, cheap to set up and maintain and you'll get lots of nice reviews on Trip Advisor.
Canuk
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Canuk »

Oh and early/late checking in time too. No one likes hanging about in the rain till 5pm!

It's suggest check in from 3pm till 10.30pm, which gives everyone a chance, especially tourists coming from long distance or off international flights.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Porridge

Books

Thick warm quilts

Porridge
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landsurfer
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by landsurfer »

Cyril Haearn wrote:Porridge

Books

Thick warm quilts

Porridge


+1
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Cyril Haearn »

I was dreaming at work today.. You could put OS maps on the walls, one-inch, 1:50000, 1:25000. James Herriots short stories are good, one can read a couple of them in an evening (no need to nick the book) or Scottish short stories collected/written by Douglas Dunn.
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
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Paulatic
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Location: 24 Hours from Lands End

Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by Paulatic »

I’ve often wonder if anyone here has used it?
Although the OP didn’t reveal her location I’d be very surprised if this isn’t the place
https://www.tractorsandtents.com/

Four reviews on tripadvisor all positive https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Rev ... gland.html
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

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bretonbikes
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Re: What should we have in our bunkhouse

Post by bretonbikes »

Paulatic wrote:
PhilWhitehurst wrote:The difference between a good and bad bunkhouse comes to the fore when you arrive in bad weather.

Can I get out of my wet and potentially muddy kit off whilst out of the weather?
Can I put my bike somewhere safe out of the weather?
Can I get a hot shower no matter how many before have had one?
Is there somewhere where my kit will dry by the morning no matter all the other wet kit there?
Is the bunkhouse warm and cozy or cold and draughty?
Is there a kitchen area to prepare a hot meal as i don't fancy going back out in the bad weather?
Is there a hot chocolate machine and / or a machine I can buy some to make a hot drink?
Is the bed nice and comfortable with a large duvet or extra blankets to keep warm?
Is there a communal area I can relax my weary bones with a book?
Am I welcome if I arrive late due to poor weather?

Wayfarers in Penrith ticks all those boxes :D free wifi too


Our new bunkhouse has all those but one - and it's a killer - a way of drying clothes. I'm not a fan of tumble driers in such places (noisy and hardly 'ecological') but without an old fashioned boiler room it's not easy. Maybe a dedicated radiator with hanger over it (thinking aloud here !). I did buy one of those centrifuge spinners which is good enough to make wet lycra or a fleece wearable but cotton just is too damp.

Any ideas welcome...
38 years of cycletouring, 33 years of running cycling holidays, 8 years of running a campsite for cyclists - there's a pattern here...
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